Fox News was hoping to pay tribute to the Queen of Soul today after her passing, but there was a glaring mistake that Twitter pointed out just 3 minutes and 30 seconds into the homage. The screen showed an ’80s-style double glamour shot of the singer, but instead of photoshopping two images of Aretha Franklin together, the secondary image was actually of Patti LaBelle.
at the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 25th anniversary gala.
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Entertainment Weekly reports that the photo flashed between tributes to the late Franklin, which included clips of past performances and interviews with the singer and her friends and family. While the main image was of Franklin, the smaller image is of LaBelle performing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” at the White House back in 2014. According to EW, Fox was quick to issue a statement about the mix-up:
“We sincerely apologize to Aretha Franklin’s family and friends. Our intention was to honor the icon using a secondary image of her performing with Patti LaBelle in the full-screen graphic, but the image of Ms. Franklin was obscured in that process, which we deeply regret,” the statement read.
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But it wasn’t quick enough, because Twitter erupted with its own hot takes. Users dished out Franklin lyrics in response. For her part, LaBelle didn’t acknowledge the mistake, but she did pay tribute to Franklin.
“I am deeply saddened about the passing of the Queen of Soul and my sister in song, Aretha Franklin,” she posted in a tweet.
LaBelle’s words stood in stark contrast to some of the other tweets that went up in the wake of the gaffe.
Vulture notes that LaBelle’s tweet may finally mark the end of an ongoing feud that existed between her and Franklin. Though the two denied any sort of rivalry, the site says that although it was never acknowledged, it was definitely there. Maybe Fox News was just tossing one last jab in during its tribute to the Queen of Soul, but knowing what came out with the official statement, it was probably more of an oversight than diva-level shade.
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