Jennifer Hudson on wanting to try Cincinnati-style chili, her love for animals, more

Cincinnati has landed on Jennifer Hudson's radar for two reasons: the ducks and the chili.

The singer and talk show host sat down with The Enquirer to discuss her new collaboration with Dawn dish soap, owned by Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble, and the brand's Dawn ducklings. Naturally, the conversation shifted to Cincinnati-style chili.

"It sounds so good," she said about the local dish, joking about making her 15-year-old son, David Otunga Jr., drive her to town for a taste test.

The Dawn campaign, which released Tuesday, was Hudson's second notable launch this week. "The Jennifer Hudson Show," returned for a third season Monday.

"Everything is about family. We've built a nice community of a family with 'The Jennifer Hudson Show,' from the audience, the guests, the viewers," she said.

Hudson, among all her professional achievements, prides herself on being able to bring people together. That has made the transition to becoming a talk show host pretty seamless.

"In my family, we're either singing you down or talking you down. ... It just makes sense in my life and who I am," she said.

In her Dawn campaign, Hudson employs another passion: her love of animals.

The collaboration allows customers to download a $1 off coupon for Dawn Platinum EZ-Squeeze. It will then be matched with a donation to the International Bird Rescue, an organization that relies on Dawn to save wildlife impacted by oil pollution.

"Dawn soap is the only trusted soap that helps rescue wildlife ... that speaks to me. In my career, I love to do things that I'm passionate about and things that I love, and I love animals," she said, adding that, as a kid, her friends and family would jokingly say, "Jennifer treats the animals better than she treats people."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Jennifer Hudson talks Cincinnati-style chili, love for animals