{"id":318332,"date":"2021-08-08T01:19:14","date_gmt":"2021-08-07T22:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-aretha-franklins-tragic-life-made-her-a-demanding-diva\/"},"modified":"2021-08-08T01:19:14","modified_gmt":"2021-08-07T22:19:14","slug":"how-aretha-franklins-tragic-life-made-her-a-demanding-diva","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-aretha-franklins-tragic-life-made-her-a-demanding-diva\/","title":{"rendered":"#How Aretha Franklin&#8217;s tragic life made her a demanding diva"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#How Aretha Franklin&#8217;s tragic life made her a demanding diva<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Aretha Franklin was one of the biggest stars in America \u2014 and one of the biggest divas. She refused to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a> by plane. She insisted on the heat being cranked up while she recorded, other people\u2019s comfort be damned.<\/p>\n<p>Once in the studio, Aretha required special fuel: \u201cShe would call out .\u2009.\u2009. \u2018Get me the fried chicken and cheeseburger,\u2019\u2009\u201d Narada Michael Walden, a drummer who worked with her, told The Post. \u201cThen she would eat the chicken and burger, undo the top button of her jeans and blast [the vocals] out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Food was just one of her excesses, along with alcohol, cigarettes and sex.<\/p>\n<p>But given the tragedies of her life, who can blame her?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can hear the pain in her voice,\u201d said Harvey Mason Jr., producer of the new movie \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unitedartistsreleasing.com\/movie-site\/respect-2\">Respect<\/a>,\u201d starring Jennifer Hudson as Aretha and opening Friday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAretha channeled hardship into her singing,\u201d he told The Post.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"RESPECT | Official Trailer | MGM Studios\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qTtxoz3OIlU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The singing and the hardship both started young.<\/p>\n<p>Aretha\u2019s mother abandoned the family \u2014 which had moved from Memphis to Detroit after the patriarch, pastor C.L. Franklin, fathered a child with a 12-year-old girl in his church congregation \u2014 when the future singing legend was just 6 years old.<\/p>\n<p>She juggled school and traveling on the gospel circuit with her preacher father. Known as \u201cthe man with the million-dollar voice,\u201d C.L.\u2019s sermons were so stirring that Chess Records released them on vinyl. He did his best to look after her \u2014 one night banging on the door of singer Sam Cooke\u2019s hotel room after hearing that his 12-year-old daughter was in there with the 23-year-old soul star. (Aretha always maintained that nothing undignified went down).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"Franklin's mother, Barbara (left) abandoned the family when Aretha was 6, and after her father C.L.(right) had impregnated a 12-year-old girl.\" class=\"wp-image-19059778 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Aretha-franklin-9.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Aretha-franklin-9.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Aretha-franklin-9.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Aretha-franklin-9.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/Aretha-franklin-9.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Franklin\u2019s mother, Barbara abandoned the family when Aretha was 6, \u2014 after her father C.L. had impregnated a 12-year-old girl.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>C.L. couldn\u2019t be everywhere at once, though. Soon after her 12th birthday, Aretha was impregnated by a local boy reportedly named Donald Burke. Marriage was not considered and the baby was named Clarence. Just shy of her 15th birthday, Aretha gave birth to a second son: Eddie, named after his \u00a0father, Edward Jordan. Both Aretha and one of her brothers described Jordan as a \u201cplayer.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"Aretha Franklin had a volatile relationship with first husband Ted White (left).\" class=\"wp-image-19059769 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-6.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-6.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-6.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-6.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-6.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Aretha Franklin had a volatile relationship with first husband Ted White.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Roger Bamber\/ANL\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>With her big voice and alluring looks, Franklin proved irresistible to men on the gospel circuit \u2014 which, despite its godly teachings, was nicknamed \u201cthe sex circus\u201d by Ray Charles. In the definitive \u00adAretha biography, \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Respect-Aretha-Franklin-David-Ritz\/dp\/0316196819?tag=nypost-20\">Respect<\/a>,\u201d by David Ritz, blues singer Etta James said of a young \u00adAretha: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t use the term sexually active. I\u2019d say sexually overactive . . .\u00a0 Aretha gave it up often and easily .\u2009.\u2009.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Motherhood did not deter Aretha from making it as a singing star. Her grandmother took care of the babies as the teen crossed over from Christian to secular music. In 1960, at age 18, Franklin was scooped up by producer John Hammond, who had also discovered Billie Holiday, and signed a deal with Columbia Records. Around that same time, she fell under the strong thumb of Ted White, a man who blues vocalist Bettye LaVette once described as a \u201cgentleman pimp.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"The singer split from her second husband, actor Glynn Turman (left), after she moved to Detroit and left him in Los Angeles.\" class=\"wp-image-19059767 lazyload\" width=\"618\" height=\"412\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=618 618w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1236 1236w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 618px\"\/><figcaption>The singer split from her second husband, actor Glynn Turman, after she moved to Detroit and left him in LA.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Michael Ochs Archives<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cAnyone who didn\u2019t see Ted White as a straight-up pimp had to be deaf, dumb and blind,\u201d Harvey Fuqua, a producer at Motown Records, told author Ritz for his book.<br \/>The relationship between White and \u00adAretha was volatile and violent \u2014 according to \u201cRespect,\u201d she was \u201cbeaten by her first husband Ted White.\u201d The book quotes a label saying Aretha \u201cshowed up at [recording] sessions looking like she had literally taken a beating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>White was also Aretha\u2019s manager, and her career was stuck in neutral. By 1967 she moved from Columbia Records to the Atlantic label, and co-founder Jerry Wexler sent her to a recording session in Muscle Shoals, Ala.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\">\n<blockquote><p>With all of her talent and all she\u2019d been through, Aretha merited being a diva.<\/p>\n<p><cite>Insider on singing legend Aretha Franklin<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>There, White got drunk and quickly demanded that the trumpet player be fired for \u201cmaking passes at my wife,\u201d producer Rick Hall told The Guardian. White and Hall ended up in a fistfight and the session was canceled early \u2014 but not before Franklin and the players recorded a song called \u201cI Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You).\u201d It unleashed from Aretha a raw vocal style that would launch her to stardom \u2014 but getting there was no easy journey.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAretha had at least one nervous breakdown, drank like crazy and was married to a pimp,\u201d an insider who knew her told The Post. \u201cHer great songs were born out of chaos.\u201d<br \/>The \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Never-Loved-Man-Way-Love\/dp\/B0000033IS?tag=nypost-20\">I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)<\/a>\u201d record wr<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ed in Atlantic\u2019s New York City studio, and the single became Aretha\u2019s first big hit \u2014 followed months later by what would become \u00a0two of her signature numbers, \u201cRespect\u201d and \u201c(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.\u201d The iconic \u201cChain of Fools\u201d came a year later.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"Aretha gave birth to her first son, Clarence (center), when she just 12 years old. \" class=\"wp-image-19059764 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Aretha gave birth to her first son, Clarence (center), when she just 12 years old. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Between 1967 and \u201968, Aretha was one of radio\u2019s biggest stars. She released four albums that made Billboard\u2019s Top 10 and won her first two Grammys. She was also on the cover of Time, with the story inside mentioning her husband knocking her around in public at an Atlanta hotel. Meanwhile, her own drinking raged.<\/p>\n<p>After the birth of their son, Theodore (who now goes by Teddy Richards), Aretha divorced White in 1969. But drama followed Franklin.<\/p>\n<p>Soon after the split, Franklin \u2014 who was then pregnant with her fourth son, Kecalf, fathered by her road manager Ken Cunningham \u2014 was entertaining Charles Cooke, brother of Sam. According to a 1970 article in Jet magazine, White showed up and said he wanted to speak privately with Franklin. Charles refused to leave, an altercation ensued, and White shot him in the groin. Cooke was injured, and there was reportedly a police investigation.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"Edward Franklin (who was born two years after Clarence) sings at his mothers funeral service.\" class=\"wp-image-19059768 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-5.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-5.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-5.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-5.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-5.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Edward Franklin, who was born two years after Clarence, sings at his mother\u2019s funeral service.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Another shooting would break Aretha\u2019s heart. In June 1979, as her once-hot career was cooling and her album \u201cLa Diva\u201d was bombing on the charts, she received <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> that her father, C.L., had been shot twice during a home invasion. He was rushed to the hospital and would remain in a semi-comatose state for five years before dying at age 69.<\/p>\n<p>After the shooting, Aretha flew from a Las Vegas concert appearance to Detroit, where he was hospitalized, and never returned to her adopted home of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt changed the trajectory of her life and she thrived there,\u201d said the insider. \u201cShe went crazy and fought depression, but she also knew what it took to keep herself together and stay an operative artist. Detroit was her cocoon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aretha had married actor Glynn Turman (\u201cPeyton Place,\u201d \u201cCooley High\u201d) in 1978 but, according to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/abc7news.com\/aretha-franklin-glynn-turman-arethas-ex-husband-franklins\/3977064\/\">ABC7 News<\/a>, \u201cthe difficulty of maintaining a long-distance relationship\u201d \u2014 with Franklin in Detroit, Turman in LA \u2014 contributed to the \u00adunion\u2019s dissolution in 1984.<\/p>\n<p>In Detroit, Franklin blossomed into a full-blown diva \u2014 complete with wild touring demands, a hair-trigger temper and strange habits.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"Kecalf Cunningham (center) is the son of Aretha and her touring manager.\" class=\"wp-image-19059765 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Kecalf Cunningham (center) is the son of Aretha and her touring manager.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">FilmMagic<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Despite waning sales, Aretha\u2019s iconic status was still such that she could summon fellow stars \u2014 including Annie Lennox, Whitney Houston and Keith Richards \u2014 to meet her on her own turf to record songs and shoot videos together. But her commands could be a lot to take.<\/p>\n<p>Drummer Walden flew to Detroit from the West Coast for a 1984 session with \u00adAretha to record \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Whos-Zoomin-Who-Aretha-Franklin\/dp\/B000002VD3?tag=nypost-20\">Who\u2019s Zoomin\u2019 Who?<\/a>\u201d which would be her first and only platinum studio album. \u201cI waited four or five days at my hotel,\u201d he told The Post. \u201cShe would say to me, \u2018Look out the window. You know I don\u2019t drive in the snow.\u2019\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The singer did still leave Detroit on occasion. Film producer Mason, who also produced music for the singer, recalledworking with her in Los Angeles and \u00a0how \u201cAretha always wanted it to be very hot in the studio. It had to be 90 degrees. Studios in LA tend not to have heaters. So we brought in little portable heaters for her. It was hot. But this was Aretha. If she wanted it hot, we made it hot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And getting to those LA studios was a challenge. After a rough flight in the early 1980s, Aretha refused to fly again. So she went everywhere, even across the country, by car or bus \u2014 always routing around mountains, which scared her, too. She also refused to stay above the fifth floor in hotels.<\/p>\n<p>According to a tour rider obtained by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thesmokinggun.com\/backstage\/hall-fame\/aretha-franklin\">The Smoking Gun<\/a>, Aretha demanded that the air-conditioning vents be closed at venues when she performed, that a silver tea service with canap\u00e9s be provided backstage, and that promoters paid out $25,000 of her fee in cash at each show.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"Teddy (pictured) is Aretha's son with her first husband, Ted White.\" class=\"wp-image-19059766 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-3.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-3.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-3.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-3.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=683 683w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-3.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1334 1334w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 683px\"\/><figcaption>Teddy is Aretha\u2019s son with her first husband, Ted White.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">FilmMagic<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cAfter the show I would go backstage, get paid in cash by Aretha and sign a 1099; then she would tell you what you did right and wrong,\u201d Walden recalled of his time drumming for her. \u201cShe always had a fur coat, a Chanel purse\u201d \u2014 that she never let out of her sight, even while on stage \u2014 \u201cand a wad of cash.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aretha continued to perform in the 2000s, including at <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MJA1QRND3aw\">Barack Obama\u2019s 2009 presidential inauguration<\/a> when her <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2018\/08\/16\/where-in-the-world-is-aretha-franklins-hat\/?_ga=2.20702011.248755049.1628090566-1218008219.1584115902\">ostentatious hat<\/a> with an oversized bow got as much attention as her rousing rendition of \u201cMy Country, \u2019Tis of Thee.\u201d The next year she had surgery for a tumor but she denied reports that it was related to pancreatic cancer.<br \/>Walden was supposed to play Jazz Fest with Franklin in April 2018. \u201cBut then she got too sick to go,\u201d he said. \u201cShe had cancer and never complained. She would just hold her side.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aretha <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2018\/08\/16\/aretha-franklin-dies-at-76\/?_ga=2.107735169.248755049.1628090566-1218008219.1584115902\">died from a pancreatic tumor<\/a> on Aug. 6, 2018. Initially she appeared not to have left a will, which caused mayhem over her multimillion-dollar estate. But according to the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/entertainment\/music\/brian-mccollum\/2021\/03\/09\/aretha-franklin-fourth-will-drafted-year-she-died-unsigned\/6867582002\/\">Detroit Free Press<\/a>, three handwritten documents turned up \u2014 one found <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2019\/08\/07\/handwriting-expert-to-examine-wills-found-in-aretha-franklins-couch-cushions\/\">tucked beneath a couch cushion<\/a> \u2014 explaining what she wanted to leave to whom. This past March, an unsigned, 22-page typed document, which includes correspondence between Aretha and a law firm, was uncovered. Most of the $6.7 million worth of assets go to her four sons; a niece and cousin are to share her clothing.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"Jennifer Hudson plays Aretha Franklin in the new film \u201cRespect,\u201d out Friday. Marlon Wayans co-stars as her first husband, Ted White.\" class=\"wp-image-19059770 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-7.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-7.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-7.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-7.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/aretha-franklin-7.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Jennifer Hudson plays Aretha Franklin in the new film \u201cRespect,\u201d out Friday. Marlon Wayans co-stars as her first husband, Ted White.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The insider sees all of this as one last diva move from Aretha \u2014 and one that was well within her right.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne thing I respect about Aretha is that, with all that she\u2019d been through and all of her talent, she merited being a diva,\u201d the insider said. \u201cShe got it and held onto it. There is a part of her character to celebrate for being tough. Aretha was a \u00admotherf\u2013ker, man.\u201d\n            <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/08\/07\/how-aretha-franklins-tragic-life-made-her-a-demanding-diva\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#How Aretha Franklin&#8217;s tragic life made her a demanding diva&#8221; Aretha Franklin was one of the biggest stars in America \u2014 and one of the biggest divas. She refused to travel by plane. She insisted on the heat being cranked up while she recorded, other people\u2019s comfort be damned. Once in the studio, Aretha required&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":318333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/A-Divas-Pain-Aretha1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[113660,29336,29337,1361,39579],"class_list":["post-318332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-8-7-21","tag-aretha-franklin","tag-jennifer-hudson","tag-movies","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}