A nephew of legendary queen of soul Aretha Franklin is disputing reports that the 18-time Grammy winner is at death’s doorstep.
On Saturday, veteran reporter Roger Friedman first broke the news that Aretha was “gravely ill” and in a Detroit hospital.
But Aretha’s nephew Tim Franklin believes she will pull through.
“We believe she’ll pull through it, she believes she’ll pull through it, and that’s the important thing,” Tim told PEOPLE.
“She’s alert, laughing, teasing, able to recognize people,” he tells PEOPLE.
On Monday, media outlets reported that Aretha was in hospice care and close to the end. But Tim Franklin disputes the reports.
“I saw her a week ago Friday and we talked for about 45 minutes to an hour,” he recalled. “My brother was there on Saturday and she was alert, talking, laughing, joking. She’s watching TV, so God forbid she sees all of this ‘Aretha’s dead,’ so I don’t want to dampen her spirits on that.”
Tim added that family members are “trying to keep her spirits up and go from there.”
Detroit news anchor Evrod Cassimy said he spoke to Aretha on Monday. “Just got a chance to speak to Aretha Franklin. She is resting and surrounded by close friends and family,” he tweeted.
Another clue that Aretha might not be at death’s doorstep comes from the original source of the grim reaper news: Roger Friedman’s blog.
Just 48 hours after he claimed Aretha was deathly ill, Friedman reported that the 76-year-old soul icon and music mogul Clive Davis were planning an all-star tribute concert scheduled for November — and Aretha planned to be in attendance.
However, other reports have suggested she is receiving hospice care at home, while a friend of the “Respect” hitmaker confirmed to PEOPLE that she has been ill “for a long time” and her “death is imminent.”
The singer announced she was retiring from touring in March 2017, and her final performance took place at the Elton John AIDS Foundation benefit in New York in November 2017. Earlier this year, she was forced to cancel a string of shows on doctors’ orders.
Franklin was reportedly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2010, when she secretly underwent surgery to remove a tumor. But she has denied the reports.
“I am not going to even deal with that,” Franklin told JET magazine.
In related news, pop singer Beyonce and her husband JAY-Z honored Aretha at their Detroit concert on Monday. The couple dedicated their On The Run II Tour performance at Ford Field to the legendary singer.
“We love you and thank you for all the beautiful music,” said Beyonce, who previously fell out with Aretha after she referred to Tina Turner as “the Queen” during the 2008 Grammy Awards.
Aretha expressed her disappointment in a statement after the Grammy telecast, calling Beyonce’s insult “a cheap shot for controversy”. She concluded her statement with “love to Beyonce anyway.”
A year later, a gracious Aretha defended Beyonce when fans taunted Bey for lip-syncing the National Anthem at President Barack Obama’s first inauguration.
Photos by Ray Filmano / WENN, Ivan Nikolov/WENN.com, Dominic Chan/WENN.com
It was nice to see all those folks in her hometown singing RESPECT!
She needs all that positive energy
Ford Field was packed!
I wish people would stop saying people are on their deathbed.
God bless Aretha man. Fight Ms. Ree! Fight!
Well I’m glad to hear she’s OK… God Bless her!
Wow… 18 Grammy’s. Impressive.
Yeah, I hate they announced she was gravely ill. Maybe all the well wishes are helping though.
I just don’t like the idea of people’s personal health information being given to the public. I just feel like health information should remain private, rich, famous, powerful or not. Anyway, I hope she’s at peace.
Well this is the down side of being a public figure.
yup and she deserves more than that.
Aretha is the type that like to have the last say in what’s going on in her life. There’s no telling what’s the truth at this point ?
Sure damn it does.
*yells defiantly* Long Live The Queen!
*runs byke out before i start crying* https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/adf60a6e2371eb61ed06e11e80488e695ce1b05aba500eece1116c5034cde3bf.gif
If she’s in hospice, she could very well be alert, My Uncle was. Its just nothing medically that can be done for her at that point except comfort. Let us know when you hear the death rattle in her chest then you know its imminent.
like i said yesterday yall get ready for jhud bigfoot bass fish mouth kick stand leg whale back big head ass to do a tribute for the soon to be late great aretha franklin
I rather see Fanny!
??? Lol. Why she gotta be all of that?
Damn you went in ?????
this living legend is fighting for her life and Donald Trump is healthy??
cause she is.
she will be there with her husband
She’s at home. She’s not in a hospice facility.
Hospice can be done at home.
Sandra, people have hospice care at home. I’m hoping the nephew is right, she’ll pull through, but hospice doesn’t have to be in a facility, especially if someone wants to die at home.
she’s a public figure and anyone can talk about her and speculate on her condition. It’s not like anyone has released her medical records.now, that would be illegal.
Lmaooo..wheeew! I actually needed that!!!
they don’t sing alike so i’mma be mad. who do we think would be fitting?
“…jhud bigfoot bass fish mouth kick stand leg whale back big head ass to do a tribute”
lmao noooooooooo… i can’t stand her!
I really hope Fantasia gets to do a big tribute instead.
awww lawd, do you have to spell it out for us???
Whew chile. Nicki Minaj said Safaree stole credit cards and bought hookers. Not surprised at all. Pretty sure I said he seems like a cornball to me on here just the other day.
Yep, you absolutely can have hospice care at home. We had it for my dad. The way it was explained to us is that when the person is close to death, like within a week to less than 2 weeks they are moved from a hospital to a hospice. We chose to have the hospice come to my sister’s home where my dad was brought from the hospital. And as the hospice explained, he did pass within a week of being released to hospice.
Praying for Ms. Ri.
But he wrote some of her best work. She’s only going to do 150k this week she going be popping that puss all over the awards shows this fall.
Whale ? back??!!! ?????? I am hollering!!! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/97f6096c9e2cdd93adbe4eeb5e7d958eae0fe7987734d5ceccb68bc263028dc0.gif https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ce7d9a92ad0cd199b20192f4cf775b6dbe24baaefc8bce8df603cd3b4b568f89.gif
Yep. sure can. Did hospice at home for my dad.
Idk what that has to do with him stealing her credit cards and buying hookers.
But if that is true, I wish they would re-unite so she could put some good music out. Never been a fan, but she has a couple of songs I like.
She needed something to say about him.
“..jhud bigfoot bass fish mouth kick stand leg whale back big head ass to do a tribute”
LMBAO. Not kick stand leg. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e205cc772599fd1cfb6343d48dbd26ec8a8b5b8cbd1c71421d6288c915f1ca79.jpg
And I am still ROFL LMAO ??? I am sooo done!! Tickled chile tickled!! ??https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4a7ca6e8539e3dc6c52cf6750c1594d56d173eede99a0fbc1a01d413624b47c6.gif
Omg….um ova here listenin to my ReRe playlist and cdfu…Girrrlll!!!
Taysha.
Ciara……
Dam ReRe been sick for a good minit…I am pretty certain that she has made her own arrangements. Everything probably preplan. If she passes I hope the family carry out her plan to the T. Hoping Re plus through.
R E S P E C T for a legend
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1bed6772de8b42f2791c1de5c3c41481e01b2e5d1990ff279a19558bee09204e.gif
???
Is that true? I did not hear a rattle when my dad passed. I had just walked into his room to read to him (I’ve heard that the hearing is the last to go so I would read to him) and it appeared as though he wasn’t breathing so I listened to his chest and didn’t hear anything. So then I checked his pulse and it was very, very faint so he was passing on as I was standing there. I went to the other room to call the hospice worker and by the time she got back to the room he had passed. I’m so glad I walked into the room when I did. At least he wasn’t alone when he took his last breath.
I wish people would stop rushing Aretha to her death, someone was alive yesterday but are dead today. Aretha may outlive someone who is sending her prayers.
When my grandmother passed, we could hear it. Its not loud and it didn’t last too long. It was right before she passed. You may not have known what you were hearing. The Dr. Told us what it was.
I don’t know about pancreatic cancer, but when we saw her last year at Ravinia, she did a full segment and testament to God about her surgery a few years ago. And she kept saying it was liver. Maybe liver cancer? Anyway, she let the audience know that she had recovered from whatever it was.
But, I do believe she is gravely ill. At death’s door? Who knows?
Oh, okay.
Cuz she is.
Where you get Ciara from? Ciara is a dancer, not a singer.
doubt it
When somone on here years ago said her ass had a baggy mouth? I still canna. None of this either.
Lol
Age did humble her some. She learned how to start showing up to her own concerts. She is all of those things and she wears it proudly. Cant fault someone who says yes I am all of those things AND what? Folks can Either accept it or move around. Dont ever change for anyone. She has been all those things since she dropped when we she was 14 yo. Didnt change for not one person.
I give Aretha a pass because she had a terrible childhood and that can really mess a person up. I feel empathy for her. I really do.
+1. Her Childhood was pretty bad
???!!
She’s in hospice, my goodness can y’all respect that? How bout overly religious ppl believe god is gonna show favor and repair her liver that’s taking a beating w/ controlled drugs while in hospice. I bet her euphoria from said drugs has him in denial. I’m absolutely sure she’s in hospice because I looked up her hashtag lastnight on instagram and came across a girl in a nursing uniform. I won’t say her name because she realized the error of her judgement. Anyway she had on her uniform, she posted something to the effect of “going to work I am so honored and humbled for this job and blessed blah blah blah” but she hashtag it Aretha Franklin and hashtag hospicecare etc. I sent her a message saying are u the hospice nurse. She deleted the post lastnight and this morning the account is private. Anyway Aretha is in hospice
All the way
Lord you found the visual
You forgot ashy knees, but you on point! lol!
I so regret not going to see her at Ravinia!! Ugghhh!!!
I so regret not going to see her at Ravinia!! Ugghhh!!!
Lookit. When she said kick stand leg, I was all the way done. I had to find them. LOL.
Lookit. When she said kick stand leg, I was all the way done. I had to find them. LOL.
I’m going to ask what everyone is thinking…Are you okay? Or…How old are you is the better question. Everything you said makes zero sense.
I’m going to ask what everyone is thinking…Are you okay? Or…How old are you is the better question. Everything you said makes zero sense.
oh yeah and sneaky snake eyes
I heard that in my mother’s chest. I didn’t know what it was at that time. And the nurses didn’t say anything about it to cause an alarm. My mother passed within some days after I heard that noise. And it’s very distinctive. I will never forget it. She was in ICU.
motorcycle kickstand
Pull through Queen.
I wish she would see this
OH HELL TO THE NO!
Is that Aretha in your gravi?
he HAD to be clowning because aretha would raise up out of the casket and tell them to kindly move on to the next item in the order of service.
Well damn!! I’m weeping
Sure can be done at home. I am a Hospice volunteer and only go to peoples homes. Very rarely do I go in the facility.
Dead!!
Don’t bother, lol. ?
?????
cerror
singing Ain’t No (other) Way ????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????REAL TEARS!!! OMG NO YOU DIDNT..LMMFAO!!!
With goggles and a scalpel. Dâmn!!!
Everyone is leaking people’s personal business now, so gone are the days where people privacy, was actually respected.
Attention seekers.
So glad Ms. Ri is still here fighting the good fight. But it begs this question. Her family and/or spokesperson is speaking out the sides of their necks. One side is saying she is not gravely ill. The other side is saying: We have been told that her passing could come at any moment and that her family has all gathered around her, which suggest that her passing could come at any moment.
What I R.E.S.P.E.C.T. is when people say what they mean (honestly) or don’t say anything at all. So her family and/or spokesperson need to get on one page, which is to be quiet and not say anything at all and let her live out her last days, months, etc. in peace without the he-said she-said frenzy. How about that?
You would be surprised at how typical narcissistic behaviors are for these high-achieving celebrities. I most often don’t buy the “fake humility” act that many celebrities present!
As India Arie stated, in an Oprah interview, “it’s their job to make us like them,” and Aretha seemed to care less!
But, her music speaks to the soul, and her shade couldn’t dim its shine or comfort (she got my grandma and mom through with her music)!
Amazing Grace (G.O.A.T) or the legions of other great music (Daydreaming, Rock Steady, Oh me, Oh my, etc.) she made and shared with the world is incomparable! Human beings come flawed!
You are so right!
I saw one music documentary, and the telling how in spite of her domestic violence, she put out “I’ve Never Loved a Man,” and never addressed her personal problems, or apologized for being “Aretha!”
It was always about the work, hence the massive music catalogue and hit records!
Aretha is a legendary singer. In her youth, her vocal prowess was iconic. However, as a person, she leaves a lot to be desired. Ms. Thing can be mean and petty to the 10th power. Regardless, I wish her well.
However… I don’t want to rain on her family’s parade, but hospice patients often experience a short recovery, then suddenly take a turn for the worst. Some people call it a “nearing death awareness” or a “hospice bounce. “
Hospice doesn’t always mean a death. It’s just that most times, a family will not enter into hospice until they are near the end of life. But the earlier you receive hospice care, the more opportunity there is to stabilize your medical condition. Hospice is available for many months and can make that time more about living well than dying. Of course we don’t know what her actual issue is so she very well could be near death. Praying God’s will be done.
girl ion like that big face bihh..she seems so sneaky and thinks she something special
Seems you’re the only one thinking that. I’m a housewife and retired military, I’m 39, I’m an online lurker and perfectly sane. Your passive aggressive nature says more about your mental health than mine.
We’re the same age and I still stand by what I said. You sound like a Looney Tune.
I know that. I took care of terminally ill patients in their homes. Hospice care is simply making the patient comfortable by administering pain medicine and sedatives.
You know, this may not be the right time to say this, but I never got all the hoopla about Aretha Franklin. Great singer indeed, but any greater than Gladys Knight or Patti Labelle? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I recognize who she is, I just always found her to be hugely overrated. I feel like she’s the soul singer White folks crowned Queen and we just went along w it. BC if Gladys and Patti were doing a concert right now, they’d blow the roof off and have more jams I actually wanna hear! Please forgive me Roses ?
God ALWAYS has the final say! Until then, keep the faith
I feel the exact same way you do. don’t get me wrong I like her and she has my RESPECT but I just could not understand the hoopla over her voice.It wasn’t that great think of Dionne Warwick, Nancy Wilson,
For a young women with her pipes yes it was iconic it came from the church choir so there was that infusion of gospel and soul but after maturing into a grown women she falls in line with the great numbers of black chauntauses that can sing their hearts out
Thank you for your service sis! What branch? I’m a proud USAF brat! ?
Yes. (I know you weren’t asking me but I noticed it myself) She confirmed it yesterday when asked. It’s a beautiful pic. ???
I was stunned that she had a child at 12!! Can you imagine??! And idk if she was harmed or not but my Auntie’s in the D shared that with me. They also talked about all that she (and all the elders) had to overcome. Much respect ??
??
???!!
Right!!! ???https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0720cf991265281e90e7a7f20521fa8f9deec5c6a2e74bc124d1691a4c57dac5.gif
I’m sorry for your loss. I thankfully still have my mom and grandma ?? (who is my heart and soul!!) My mother isn’t as great but I am grateful. Blessings to you! ????
Ok. You had me wondering ??
1 in 25 million people get up off their deathbed. All honors to the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin rest well queen you did that.
Hospice is typically end stage of life. The Queen is transitioning.
You explained things perfectly. Thank you and you saved that fool azz nurse spilling Miss Ree’s tea.
Thank you.
Yea! And for people to say it’s a “public figure” is crazy to me. Just cause this is my JOB, it doesn’t mean that I want you in my personal shat. And that’s why (although I’m not a fan), respect Bey and Jay…you know nothing about them and, you have no idea if anything that they do divulge is the truth. If nothing else, medically, EVERYONE should have a right to privacy.
Maybe listen to a variety of her music she’s done more than most people know. Gospel, standards, opera, easy listening.
Ummmm ok.
US navy sis! HooYah!! Thank you for your service as well!???
I adore Aretha in a different way than Patti or Gladys. All their voices have different strengths. I think Aretha is seen in a bigger light because of her songs’ roles in the Civil Rights Movement. Also, Gladys has never done me like Aretha has, and I’ve seen Gladys live. I still rate Marvin Gaye’s version of Heard it Through the Grapevine farrrrrrrr above Gladys’s version. But Aretha’s and Patti’s songs always get played in my house. And Aretha makes me cry.
Preach. Aretha was much more than her voice. My Grandma is 87. She just told me. WhitePeople did not name her Queen of Soul. She believes it was a DJ or some unknown Black Person/s. I loved her like a member of my family. Sorry she had to go so soon. 76 is not old for today. Auntie Maxine, turned 80 yesterday.