Patti Labelle talks to CNN about new down low movie

The boys behind LifeLube invite readers' comments on this story below.

Legendary soul singer Patti Labelle appeared on CNN Newsroom Saturday morning to talk about her new film "Cover" that explores the connection between men on the down low and the HIV/AIDS epidemic among black women. CNN host Betty Nguyen interviewed Labelle and introduced the piece by describing men on the down low as "having unprotected sex with other men and transmitting HIV to their girlfriends, even their wives." Labelle, who plays a role in the movie as a mother with a son in the closet, described the down low problem as "a subject that people don't talk about." In the movie, the down low "ends up killing" a young woman who "dies of AIDS," she said. "It's because everybody's so secretive and so down low and undercover." During the interview, Nguyen said that "African-American women account for 70 percent of all new HIV/AIDS cases." That figure is actually incorrect, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Blacks as a whole account for 49 percent of all new HIV cases and most of those cases are men. Black women only make up about 17.6 percent of all new HIV/AIDS cases (6,243 out of 35,537 total cases), not 70 percent as was reported. But HIV infection is still "the leading cause of death for black women" aged 25-34 years. Labelle offered advice to women who find themselves in these situations. "I say if you have a little suspicion, walk, girls. You know, because sometimes there are signs and you might not see them, and sometimes there are signs and you ignore them because you're so in love with these people." She also offered advice to those who are living on the down low. "If you're going to live a lifestyle, don't be afraid of it, don't be ashamed. Tell somebody so that you can save somebody." The film is directed by Bill Duke and includes stars Vivica A. Fox and Louis Gossett Jr., among others.