Da Brat was hesitant to come out as queer until meeting her now-wife, Jesseca ‘Judy’ Dupart.
The couple appeared on the Wednesday (February 25) episode of Angie Martinez’s IRL podcast, and early on in the interview, the “Funkdafied” rapper revealed what it took for her to go public with their relationship. Da Brat also recalled queer female artists having to stay closeted in the past.
“That shit wasn't cool back in the day,” the artist and radio host said about being publicly queer.
Da Brat added that she feels “so happy” for Queen Latifah, who frequently expresses affection for her longtime partner, Eboni Nichols.
“It was against the rules back in the day for a female artist,” Da Brat explained. “You couldn't do that. You couldn't tell that. Remember Ellen DeGeneres lost everything back in the day.”
The reference to DeGeneres was a nod to the retired comedian and television host coming out in 1997. The following year, DeGeneres’ first sitcom ended and her second sitcom, The Ellen Show was short-lived. The entertainer revitalized her career with her long-running talk show, lasting for nineteen seasons until its cancellation.
Da Brat added that she initially “never cared” about disclosing her sexuality. “But I never really met anybody that made me want to be out loud…I thought I was in love a few times, but apparently not,” she continued. “Not until I met this one, ‘cause then I felt some feelings and some things that I had never felt before.
“And it made me want to be like, ‘Fuck everybody. You’re going to see this love. You’re going to see how happy I am.’”
Da Brat and Dupart married in 2022 after dating for five years and share a three-year-old son, True Legend, who was born via In vitro fertilization.
