Aretha Franklin raised eyebrows last Saturday after she skipped Whitney Houston's home going celebration and blamed her absence on leg cramps [click here if you missed that].
Not long after, rumors began to circulate that the real reason Aretha missed the service was because Cissy Houston may have gotten upset about comments Aretha made that aired on televison the day before the funeral [click here if you missed that].
Aretha clears up the speculation with a statment...
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. 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 pre-taped. 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.
