“Aretha Franklin Drinking Herself Into The Grave,” screamed the headline. The story said the R&B legend’s “drinking is threatening her career and her life!”

Franklin wasted no time in responding to the tabloid report. “I was appalled and shocked to hear last week that there was a totally trashy and grossly untrue article using my name and likeness in a weekly sleaze supermarket paper that had no bearing whatsoever on who I am or what the truth is, seemingly, because I canceled one or two appearances out of 50 or more this year for legitimate reasons,” she said.

The article sites an “insider” as a source and details a number of tawdry incidents featuring an allegedly drunk and disorderly diva.

“Hopefully, ‘sources close to’ have advised them that I am filing a $50 million lawsuit for defamation of character, gross inaccuracies and lies and the writers’ cheap, low class, vicious and reckless attempt at journalism at my expense,” Franklin said.