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Glenn Gamboa

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Aretha Franklin lashes out at media (including us)

Wednesday February 22, 2012 5:24 PM By Glenn Gamboa

Aretha Franklin performs at Radio City Music Hall

Photo credit: Getty Images

The Queen of Soul is angry with us and we’re not sure why.

In a statement released this afternoon, Aretha Franklin said, “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. 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.”

Miss Franklin is certainly entitled to her opinions. However, we at Newsday haven’t written anything or carried anything about her friendship with Cissy Houston and we haven’t speculated about why she did not attend Whitney Houston’s funeral Saturday the way other papers have. We reached out to her publicist who said she would check with Miss Franklin and get back to us.

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Maybe she has us confused with someone else?

In any case, Miss Franklin is upset about media coverage of her non-appearance at the funeral, saying, “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.”

She also clarified a quote from her “Today Show” interview where she said, “Parents really have to talk to their children before they leave home. They have to make sure when they leave home, they have all the right things. She left home with all the right things, but she just kind of lost her way along the way.”

Miss Franklin said in her statement that “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.”

Tags: Aretha Franklin , Whitney Houston , Cissy Houston

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