Aretha Franklin is not a happy camper at the moment.
Apparently, the legendary “Queen of Soul” isn’t too pleased with the release of an unauthorized biography chronicling her life.
As a matter of fact, she’s described the book as “trashy.”
According to Billboard, the book titled Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin, was written by David Ritz and the “Rose Is Still A Rose” singer has made it quite that clear she is not fond of his literary work.
She also insists a substantial amount of the information presented in the book is based on lies.
The 72-year-old singer recently released a brief statement in reference to the new book.
“As many of you are aware, there is a very trashy book out there full of lies and more lies about me. … (The writer’s) actions are obviously vindictive because I edited out some crazy statements he had the gall to try and put in my book written 15 years ago,” the statement read. “Evidently, he has been carrying this hatred ever since.”
Although Ritz has written a number of biographical works including the life stories of Etta James, Rick James and Ray Charles, Franklin insists he missed the mark with his account of her life and legacy.
However, Ritz feels otherwise. On Monday, Nov. 24, he released a statement to the Associated Press defending the book. He personally feels it is a work of “appreciation and respect.”
“I think the book in the deepest way is an appreciation. And when I say appreciation, it’s just not an appreciation of her art; it’s an appreciation of the challenges of her life and the appreciation of how hard it is to kind of navigate your way through the complexities of show business culture,” Ritz explained.
He continued, “I call the book Respect because I think it’s a respectful book,” Ritz told the publication. “I tried to be understanding and compassionate and that was my goal. … I love her and I love her art, and I tried to honor her story.”