FACT CHECKING
Truth to Power
ARETHA HAD A WILL
Queen Moves
Aretha Franklin had a reputation of being a very shrewd business woman. The Queen did things her way and she paid the price to do so.
Mrs. Franklin did prepare a hand written Will.
It's believed by her family that Mrs. Franklin purposely hand wrote her Will to limit the possibility of forgery as Aretha's handwriting is virtually impossible to duplicate. Her family believes that Aretha knew there would be an attack on her family, image and legacy when she left and this was her ingenious way of protecting them.
.jpg)
Spin Spin Spin
The untruth that Mrs. Franklin didn't pay her taxes was first narrated to the public by David Bennett Aretha's former attorney. Bennett was also Sabrina Garretts Attorney while she was the Personal Rep. for the estate. Bennett and Sabrina are both currently involved in litigation concerning missing funds to the tune of 3.7 million dollars. This was discovered after Aretha's son Kecalf Franklin hired Michigan's top forensic accountants Baker Tilly to investigate the estates accounting.
Aretha Franklin paid her income taxes. The family believes the debt in question was incurred by fraudulent records produced by David Bennett and is not related to income tax issues. The IRS is currently investigating these matters.
"RESPECT" is what we need
A biopic is a movie dramatizing the life of a particular person, typically a public or historical figure. Any true creative will tell you if you want to produce an authentic version of an important figure's life you start with the family. Solidarity with the family should be a priority out of respect and decency. It is their history too.
The current production of the “Genius series version” of Aretha's life did not invest such time nor effort to demonstrate that basic level of respect. Instead of including the heirs in their production process they were met with disregard and disrespect. This production company has chosen to use their power and influence to exclude the heirs from contributing to their mother's life story.
History has taught us that this unprofessional behavior usually is a prelude to slander and untruths. Mrs. Franklin's sons are fighting to protect their mother's life's work and family legacy.
National Treasure
"Through her compositions and unmatched musicianship, Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect. She helped us feel more connected to each other, more hopeful, more human. And sometimes she helped us just forget about everything else and dance." -- Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, in a statement.