At the Detroit premiere of Sparkle Aretha Franklin swept in at the last minute and booted a whole row of fans out of their seats...
The original Sparkle starred Irene Cara and Lonette McKee, but it was Aretha Franklin who sang on the soundtrack. Jordan Sparks does her own singing in the remake, but that didn't stop Aretha Franklin from acting like she was the star of the show at the Detroit premier last Sunday.
An insider reveals,
After a couple-hundred people filled the theater - some after waiting for as long as two hours, just to make sure they got good seats - the "queen" arrived about 10 minutes before star Jordin Sparks introduced the movie. Aretha waited while screening organizers and her personal handlers approached several people in one row, asking that they give up not one, but EIGHT seats for the "queen" and her entourage. After about five minutes, they found a group willing to give up all their spots and hike up the stairs to a place near the back of the theater. Aretha was the first to take one of the empty seats, making sure she was surrounded by her people on both sides, so she didn't have to sit next to one of the commoners. For the first half-hour of the movie, she and her crew enjoyed snacks and finger food served to them by theater staff on actual dinner plates.
