Aretha Franklin’s Lawsuit Is No Joke

The News Nerd fired the initial shot that resulted in the website getting slapped with the hefty suit.  One of its faux news items posted on April 11 detailed the saga of the brawling divas, saying that it all began with a perceived slight when the two singers appeared on the PBS “Women Of Soul” concert at the White House and that fisticuffs occurred much later when the singers were backstage during a concert in Atlanta.

“Franklin was quickly struck with a Mayweather style right and left and stumbled backwards, landing awkwardly,” wrote The News Nerd, saying that she suffered “only minor injuries” and that Atlanta police arrested LaBelle and charged her with assault and battery before she was released on a $10,000 bond.

Of course, none of it happened.  In fact the item sparking the lawsuit appears on the same page that contains such headlines as “Beyoncé Worshipper Found Dead After Sacrificing Self To Singer” and “Kanye West to Use Jesus Christ Hologram as Opening Act.”

But Franklin isn’t smiling about her 15 seconds of News Nerd fame.

“The stories were not presented as satire or humor,” Franklin said through her publicist, according to The Detroit News.  “It was presented as a serious news story intended to depict me in a slanderous and derogatory way – defamation of character.”

Evidently The News Nerd’s “report” was inspired by a few seconds of footage from the “Women Of Soul” event at the White House in which Franklin seemingly brushed past LaBelle while being helped to the stage.  Or, as The News Nerd described it, “LaBelle extended her hand to greet the ‘Respect’ singer, when she threw epic shade in an effort to avoid her.”

Although the clip is real, The Detroit News says it portrays an out-of-context moment at the Women Of Soul event and points out that that the complete PBS program shows Franklin hugging LaBelle while leaving the stage.

A standard disclaimer on The News Nerd states that the stories posted on the website “are for entertainment purposes only.  The stories may mimic articles found in the headlines, but rest assured they are purely satirical.”

Maybe so, but Aretha Franklin isn’t laughing.