Don’t worry, Aretha Franklin hasn’t passed away — in fact, she’s doing quite well! The 75-year-old singer has released a statement about her health after being the subject of an unfortunate death hoax earlier this week. “I’m doing well generally, all [tests] have come back good. I’ve lost a lot of weight due to side effects of medicine, it affects your weight… [Thanks] for your concern,” Aretha said in a statement to Us Weekly after the hashtag #RIPArethaFranklin went viral on Tuesday, Nov. 21.
Yesterday, a fake Aretha Franklin Twitter account tweeted, “It Is With Sad News That We Announce the Passing Of The ‘Queen Of Soul’ Aretha Franklin 1942-2017.” The post was subsequently shared more than 15,000 times by people who thought Aretha had actually passed away. Following the hoax, the music icon’s rep, Shaun Robinson, also released a statement confirming Aretha’s well-being. “Good Morning, everyone. I just spoke to one of Ms. Franklin’s family friends in my hometown [of] Detroit. They spoke to Aretha moments ago and asked me to tell you please don’t believe this news that was trending. Have a good day,” she said, according to Us Weekly.
https://twitter.com/ArethaFrankIinn/status/932871460808310784
Earlier this year, Aretha made headlines for looking nearly unrecognizable in an Instagram post after undergoing a drastic weight loss. At the time, the “Respect” songstress did not comment on her health but many fans were worried she was secretly battling an undisclosed illness. In August 2016, Aretha announced she was canceling several of her concerts because she needed to rest. “Due to doctors’ orders I will have to cancel a few concerts for the next month or so,” she said. Rumors previously swirled that the star was battling pancreatic cancer.
“I don’t know where ‘pancreatic cancer’ came from,” she later told Access Hollywood, confirming she had never been diagnosed with the tease. “I was sitting there reading the newspaper and it was saying someone in my family said that. No one in my family ever said that to anybody.” We’re so glad Aretha remains in good health today!
