Aretha Franklin Says Tension With Cissy Was Not the Reason Why She Missed Whitney’s Funeral

February 23, 2012 by Kellie Williams in Latest News with 1 Comment

There has been a lot of media speculation lately as to why singer Aretha Franklin did not attend Whitney Houston, her own god daughter’s, funeral, at which she was also set to perform. Some rumors were floating around that there was some tension between Franklin and Whitney’s mother, Cissy Houston. And now Ms. Franklin has come forward with a statement to end all speculation and set aside any doubts on her relationship with the Houston family.

Despite the fact that she explained, on Saturday, why she could not attend, there has still been some negative backlash. Recently, she released a statement saying,

“Unfortunately I had terrible leg spasms and locked leg muscles until 4 a.m. this morning following my concert last night, which I’ve been having for the last few days. I feel it necessary and very important to stay off my leg today as much as possible until concert time this evening.”

Most of the media speculation on the Franklin, Cissy Houston rift rose from an interview Franklin did on The Today Show the day before. In the interview 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 kind of just lost her way along the way… I thought yes she has conquered her challenges and she is on that way.”

After the public and media were critical of Franklin for her comments on The Today Show, she released another statement, clarifying what she shared during the interview. The statement read:

“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 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. If you don’t know how, at least try. Cissy does not need ridiculous speculation and neither do I — particularly at this time. 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.”

[E!, USA Today]