Aretha Franklin’s absence from Whitney’s Houston funeral sparked media attention after Franklin claimed to have fallen ill and therefore could not attend Whitney’s “Home Going” service meanwhile she was spotted performing at Radio City Hall later that night. Franklin says that she suffered leg spasms from a performance she had a day prior and asked Cissy if she could skip the funeral to rest up for performance later that night.
Well media outlet’s investigated the story a bit closer and reports quickly surfaced that Aretha Franklin was actually disinvited to Whitney’s funeral due to an interview that Franklin did earlier that week with the ‘Today’ show.
In the interview Franklin mentioned that Whitney had left her New Jersey home for the music business with a good head on her shoulders, but that something happened along the way (in her home/upbringing) that led her to drug abuse. The statement reportedly angered Cissy and Franklin was disinvited shortly thereafter.
Well, Aretha is fed up with the accusations and decided to speak out recently.
‘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.
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.
Aretha lashed out on the media outlets and called their behavior “irresponsible and inaccurate” reporting. Franklin also warned the public not to believe everything that’s reported.
‘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. If you don’t know how, at least try. Cissy does not need ridiculous speculation and neither do I—particularly at this time