During Macklemore & Ryan Lewis performance of “Same Love” with Mary Lambert at the 2014 Grammys, Queen Latifah officiated a mass wedding of 33 couples of various sexual orientations and ages.

Queen Latifah Marries 33 Couples At Grammys

For the momentous occasion, the Grammy stage design was transformed to resemble a chapel with stained-glass windows. The couples filled up an aisle of the Staples Center, exchanged rings and said “I do” in front of millions of people. After “Same Love” finished, Madonna – a longtime LGBT ally – arrived onstage to sing “Open Your Heart.”

Since Latifah was sworn is as a temporary commissioner on Sunday by the state of California, all of the marriages performed at the Grammys were legal. "I had to be sworn in as an official. I'm not a minister,” Latifah told reporters backstage, joking, “If you come see me before 12 o'clock tonight, I got your back. After that, you'll have to take the regular route.”

Latifah, who was asked if she’d participate in the mass wedding just two weeks ago, was proud to be a part of the historical moment – but hopes that in the future weddings between people of the same sex won’t be as much of a big deal.

"I look forward to the day when presiding over a historic wedding ceremony like this is just the norm — normal special, not extra, extra special," Latifa said. "To me, it's special for all the couples who married today. And I look forward to dashing off to go sign marriage certificates. It's awesome."

"The weight of it comes down, because it wouldn't matter if you're same-sex couples or heterosexual couples or interracial couples,” she continued. “It doesn't matter to me; this is someone's life committed to one another, and you want to make sure you do it right. That is what sunk in for me."

Queen Latifah On Power Of Hip-Hop

Latifa believes that Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Same Love” is just one example of hip-hop’s ability to tackle the tough subjects, and commends them for taking up the cause of marriage equality. Like the genre in the 80s when she was rapping, Latifah hopes that it will get back to commenting on things that matter.

“I don't think this is new ground for hip hop. I think this is exactly what hip hop is capable of,” she said. "When I started rapping, it was much more common for rappers to speak about different things going on in the world. We're part of the reason apartheid was changed. We brought it to the attention of a lot of people who didn't know what was going on, or violence in the communities or anything that was some type of social injustice. We've always been able to talk about it through hip hop."

"I just hope this is an inspiration to all the rappers out there, and hip hop artists out there,” she added, “that they can continue to tackle any subject you want, what might seem like a difficult subject.”

– Chelsea Regan

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