Hell hath no fury like an R&B diva scorned, especially at the Grammys. First there was Natalie Cole opening fire on Amy WInehouse. Now, in a statement released Tuesday, Aretha Franklin revealed that she, too, was incensed at a young upstart: she didn’t appreciate that Beyoncé, in her introduction of Tina Turner at Sunday’s awards show, referred to Turner as "the Queen." There’s only one Queen of Soul, Franklin implied, and she was not amused. Though she concluded her statement with, "Love to Beyoncé anyway," Beyoncé’s father/manager Mathew Knowles called Franklin’s remarks "ridiculous… childish… [and] unprofessional." Ouch!
No word on what Turner thought of all this, or whether Franklin is angry at her, too, but surely even Turner would admit that Franklin, who’s all but trademarked her regal title, deserves to keep it exclusively. At the same time, if there were anyone else who deserved such a title, it would be Turner.
What say you, PopWatchers? Do you think Beyoncé meant to diss Aretha? Do you think Franklin overreacted? And who really deserves to be called "the Queen"?
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What a ridiculous ruckus. The Beyonce/Aretha war would certainly fit into the Most Trite Non-Issue Headline thread. As for who really deserves the title “Queen” – Elizabeth II., Hellen Mirren or Freddie Mercury. You pick.
I thought Tina Turner was supposed to be The Goddess of Rock… But, whatever. This is a ridiculous fight that should have been kept out of the press. It is, indeed, childish and unprofessional. Aretha needs to chill.
Well actually I flinched when I heard Bey call Tina The QUEEN…I said wtf??? and had to stop and question if Tina WAS the queen? Maybe rock and soul, but not the Queen of Soul. I love both of them, but I love Aretha more. I think the blame should be placed on the writers & producers of the Grammys…Bey was only doing what was written.
Correction: I love Bey and Aretha, but Aretha more. I love Tina immensely…but you know there was a little item in Fox411 which also had me po’d….Friedman stated that Tina was “p***sed to have to dance alongside Bey on the Grammys and that she took a hot plane out of NYC…now that is REALLY starting a ruckus…because no way would Tina be against having to dance alongside or share the stage with Bey…Fox411 needs to retract the statement….Oh, the drama, the catfights! love it all.
Soooo, I have to ask…
Aretha realizes that she’s not an actual “Queen” right? It seems obvious that the answer is yes, but I have to ask because it’s absolutely absurd to get upset over a fake title.
I think anyone who really cares about this needs to get a life…
Take a chill pill Aretha. No one is going to think that you really aren’t all that – ever.
I hate when fame does this to people. These gals came from nothin’, achieved success and anoint themselves queen. Give me a break. It’s vanity run amok. Shut up and sing already!
I think you hit the nail on the head by using the word “stupid” in this headline. Ridiculous. These are all grown women, right? This isn’t a second-grade playground, right? Get over yourself, Aretha. Commenting on this in any way does nothing but tarnish this reputation you’ve built. Who cares who’s the queen, anyway? You’re all awesome.
To MOI: Aretha didn’t annoint herself the Queen, a music critic, or her record label and/or the Grammys did…she didn’t start that title, somebody else did. It’s like a couple of years ago, James Brown passed the title of “Godson” of Soul to Usher on the Grammys. That’s how these titles get started, not by the artist themselves…oh I forgot — Michael J. titled himself the “King of Pop” that’s an exception.
I dont know if Aretha is a queen, but she sure sounds like a diva to me.
Um, perhaps Beyonce was just making reference to the fact Ms. Turner portrayed the Acid Queen in the rock opera Tommy? Perhaps I give Ms. Knowles too much rock music history credit?
I love Aretha and give her all the R-E-S-P-E-C-T in the world but come on…Who really cares? Bitter, Party of One…right this way!
I find it interesting that Aretha said she did not know whose ego she bruised to have Tina be called the queen, but apparently it is your ego that got bruised honey. And does it seem like all the old timers who are not so much in the spotlight anymore are desperate in trying to stay relevant.
Don’t know. I’m thinking once you hit the 300 pound mark, you give up any and all claim to the title of “Queen.” Just saying.
Aretha – Queen of Spite? Seriously, after having the entire audience pretty much bow down to her that night, she actually got snippy (and made it public!) about Beyonce and Tina? Talk about an ego (and I always thought Tina was the Queen of Rock, anyway).
I thought it was kind of odd, but then I was thinking that Tina is more rock-oriented than soul-oriented, so maybe Beyonce meant Queen of Rock? She definitely wasn’t specific, though…just “The Queen”. But hey, any accolade you want to bestow upon Tina Turner is fine with me!
When I heard B say that on the air, I kinda’ whinced. She should have known better. I mean Aretha was going to be on stage later. It was in bad form on Beyonce’s part. I probably adore Tina more that Aretha, but Beyonce should have known better.
What planet has Beyonce been residing on? The nicknames are already in place for The King/The Queen of Soul/The Godfather of Soul, the (self-proclamined (King) of pop – must we give her cue cards?
I recently read an article in the NYtimes about the mothers of American soldiers whose sons have returned from Iraq with brain injuries so severe they are now catatonic. These women have had to quit their jobs in order to get their boys the best care. Maybe Ms. Franklin and Knowles should spend some time with them to get a little perspective.
This is probably some idiot publicist’s idea.
i love ms aretha and she is the queen of soul and i’m not a big fan of beyonce but COME ON that is pretty childish and unprofessional. releasing an official statement to the public about how beyonce introduced tina turner as “the queen?”
did queen elizabeth take offense w/ B? i doubt it. how about helen mirren? probably not.
Unfortunately, Aretha has always had a petty side. (A loving side too, but not seen as frequently.) The comment says more about her than anyone she was trying to “correct”. It was below her, and I feel bad for Beyoncé. You know she wasn’t trying to dis Aretha . This is what happens to people after decades of butt kissing and constant yessssing. Imagine Ms. Lohan and Spears at these ages. Whew!
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/50095/Tina-Turner-Queen-of-Rock-n-Roll/overview
I have to say I’ve lost some respect (no pun intended) for Aretha. She’s a phenominal singer, but she has a HUGE
Franklin is the Queen of Soul… Turner can be the queen of Rock. Now that THATS settled why dont they stop being petty and turn their attention to a little thing I like to call Iraq, or perhaps Darfur. This is insanely stupid of Miss Franklin. Mary J Blige has been calling herself the Queen of Soul FOREVER and she hasnt taken her out.
Wow, petty much? Seriously, this is the most stupid feud ever.
….ego. (sorry, my comp failed for a min). This just proves it. Get over yourself!
Well, one thing is clear: Bey won’t play Aretha in the movie version….
Oh brother, well, where everyone is a diva (seriously, shouldn’t you have to qualify – I dunno, be in the business for 15 years or something before being able to be called a diva? Hello, VH1, are you listening?) why can’t everyone be a queen too. I know I’m a princess.