I really don’t know how to even begin this story. I just honestly have to chuckle. Because it makes no sense. Aretha Franklin is mad at Dionne Warwick chile. And when you learn of the reason, you’ll likely chuckle too.
The Queen of Soul reached out to the Associated Press to discuss her issue with Dionne Warwick. it’s an issue that’s been festering in Franklin’s spirit for the past five years, since Whitney Houston’s funeral to be specific.
So what the hell happened?
Well, according to Aretha Dionne lied on her, claiming that she was Houston’s godmother.
Frankln told the AP, “She blatantly lied on me … fully well knowing what she was doing.”
This is after sending what the AP called a “lengthy” fax to address Warwick’s “libelous” statement against her. It all happened when, at the funeral, Warwick told those in attendance that Franklin was there at the funeral. And she introduced her. But when she realized she wasn’t, she said, “Ree’s not here, but she is here. She loves Whitney as if she were born to her. She is her godmother.”
While you and I might not see the problem with this statement, Aretha did. She said that she first met Whitney when she was a child and Franklin was far too busy to be anyone’s godmother.
Days later, Cissy Houston clarified that it was Darlene Love who was Whitney’s godmother, not Franklin.
As for why she wasn’t at the funeral, Franklin said that she was suffering from swollen feet and had a show the next day to which she was contractually bound.
So um, why is Ree Ree talking about all of this now? Because she feels now is the time.
“There’s been so much going on around her (Houston), around the service, around the drugs, around her and Bobby (Brown) supposed to be fighting, I didn’t want to add anything to that and I didn’t want to be a part of that,” she said.
Franklin recently saw Warwick at the Tribeca Film Festival’s premiere of the Clive Davis documentary and Warwick tried to speak to Franklin backstage. But she wasn’t having it.
“She said, ‘Give me a hug.’ I said, ‘Oh hell no. You couldn’t be serious,'” Franklin said.
The AP asked Franklin if she wanted an apology from Warwick, she said, “I don’t care about her apology, at this point it isn’t about an apology, it’s about libel.”
She continued, “We’ve never been friends and I don’t think that Dionne has ever liked me.”
So what does Ms. Warwick think of all this, her representative Angelo Ellerbee said, “”She will not dignify a response to the statement made by Aretha Franklin.”
Veronica Wells is the culture editor at MadameNoire.com. She is also the author of “Bettah Days.” You can follow her on Facebook and on Instagram and Twitter @VDubShrug.
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