Aretha Franklin Blasts Media After Missing Whitney Houston's Funeral
Aretha Franklin has blasted certain media outlets after speculation that she missed Whitney Houston's funeral after an explosive feud with the late singer's mother, Cissy Houston.
In a public statement, the 69-year-old soul singer reiterated that she missed her Goddaughter's funeral because she was ill and brushed of reports that she was uninvited after having a falling out with Cissy as "BS."
"Extra TV, the New York Post and Newsday (New York) should stop the BS. Cissy Houston and I have been longtime friends for almost 50 years. Cissy does not need ridiculous speculation and neither do I-particularly at this time," the frustrated singer wrote.
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"I have four invitations and parking passes that were sent to me for the funeral. Extra TV, the New York Post and Newsday (New York) are more interested in sensationalism and negative speculations than the truth. People are getting their information from the wrong source. The intelligent and the thoughtful thing to do would be to respect and have some sensitivity to the moment," Franklin added.
Some media outlets had suggested that Houston's 78-year-old mother Cissy was angered by statements that Franklin made about Houston's upbringing during an appearance that she made on the "Today Show" shortly before Houston's funeral, and Franklin attempted to set the record straight.
"Also, with respect to the Today Show, my entire statement was pretaped. However, the Today Show did not air the part of my statement, which said, 'This is no reflection on Cissy or Nippy's upbringing.' Knowing Cissy as well as I do, I know Whitney left home right and properly. I was generalizing and it was a well intended statement for any young adult coming into the music industry. I was not speaking of anyone specifically," Franklin said in the statement.
As The Christian Post previously reported, Franklin received widespread criticism after canceling her scheduled appearance at Houston's funeral on Saturday while still going on to perform a concert that same night.
Franklin had explained that she was suffering from leg spasms which prevented her from attending Houston's funeral, and Houston fans were angered after it was learned that despite her claiming to be too ill for the funeral, she still took to the stage at Radio City Hall in N.Y. the same day to belt out tunes for the end of her "greatest hits" tour.
Franklin was reportedly devastated after missing Houston's funeral, but took the opportunity to dedicate her concert to the late Whitney Houston and even sang her own rendition of Houston's famous hit "I Will Always Love You."
