Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Entertainment
EntertainmentTV

Aretha Franklin Slams Kathie Lee Gifford In Open Letter

By | Published on July 18, 2012
CommentsComments (0) Add as a preferred source on Google i

Aretha Franklin is serious about joining American Idol for a season or two and Kathie Lee Gifford will not stand in her way.

During a segment on the ‘Today’ show Tuesday morning, Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee were talking with E! correspondent Jason Kennedy about Aretha’s plea to Fox executives. Kathie, who’s has one major gaffe under her belt this year with Martin Short scored another one when she stated,

“If they are looking for a younger demographic, there are a lot of kids out there (who) actually don’t know who Aretha Franklin is. It’s sad, but they don’t.”

The E! correspondent didn’t help things when he added Aretha’s known fear of flying,

“She does not fly. She needs to get over that (doing ‘Idol’)”

It didn’t take long for the Queen of Soul to respond via an email to CNN,

“While I enjoy Kathie Lee and Hoda daily, her assessment is totally wrong!” Franklin began.

“I’ve been to California from Detroit four times this year and Florida. I go wherever I choose to go comfortably on my custom bus,” added Aretha in response to Kennedy’s comment.

“Further, my audience and fans span the age of 8 to 90! And are multi-ethnic, and I am very well known to young adults, tweens and teens. Their parents play my music and I take care of my business whenever I sign on the dotted line!

“I’m surprised Kathie Lee did not research my worldwide celebrity audience! She’s usually right on top of things with a great sense of humor, but she’s totally wrong this time. She should research me before she speaks about me. I’m sure she thought she was right; still enjoy Hoda and Kathie Lee!”

Sounds like no hard feelings in the end. And just for good measure Aretha reiterated her interest in American Idol.

“I could enjoy being a judge for a season or two. Let’s kick it up a few notches and have a slammin’, jammin’ season.”

Charlie Sheen has also put in his bid.

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Latest from Atlanta Black Star

Back to top