Gladys Knight Calls Out Aretha Franklin

Gladys Knight is #TeamDionne, when it comes to the alleged rift between legendary singers Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin. During a recent interview with Hip Hollywood, Gladys spoke about the situation, stating:

I know my sister, Dionne. It ain’t nothing to her. Now Re [Aretha], is a little bit different. It’s just one of those things, everybody got their little knick knacks going on.

Siding with Dionne, she continued,

Dionne is gon’ speak her mind and she’s gon tell the truth. Re is gon’ be sensitive and cause a whole lot of rift raft.

See the clip.

Glady’s comments were in reference to a recent interview that Aretha did in which she revealed that she has serious issue with Dionne.

Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick

As previously reported,  Aretha called out Dionne over an issue that seems to go back over five years. Aretha claims that Dionne fabricated a story that she was Whitney Houston’s godmother. The comments were allegedly made, back in 2012 at the late singer’s funeral. Aretha says of Dionne,

She blatantly lied on me;  fully well knowing what she was doing. 

At the time, Dionne told attendees at the funeral that Aretha was there and introduced her, but then realized she wasn’t in attendance.

Dionne Warwick (2015)

Referring to Aretha by her nickname, Dionne reportedly said,

Ree’s not here, but she is here. She loves Whitney as if she were born to her. She is her godmother.

Aretha says that at the time, she could not attend, as she was suffering from swollen feet and missed the funeral so she could perform later that night at Radio City Music Hall in New York, which she said she was contractually obligated to do.

Cissy Houston (2014)

Days after the funeral and Dionne’s comments, Cissy Houston, Whitney Houston’s mother, clarified that Aretha wasn’t Whitney’s godmother (it was Darlene Love). However, Aretha took offense to the comment and opted to address it at a later time.

There’s been so much going on around her (Houston), around the service, around the drugs, around her and Bobby (Brown) supposed to be fighting, I didn’t want to add anything to that and I didn’t want to be a part of that. 

Five years later, Aretha is ready to speak on the situation. She says that she saw Dionne last week at the Tribeca Film Festival’s premiere of mentor Clive Davis’ documentary, “Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives,” and she also performed. Aretha says of their interaction,

She said, ‘Give me a hug.’ I said, ‘Oh hell no. You couldn’t be serious’.

When asked if she wanted an apology she replied,

I don’t care about her apology, at this point it isn’t about an apology, it’s about libel. We’ve never been friends and I don’t think that Dionne has ever liked me.

Dionne has responded about the situation, via her rep, stating:

She will not dignify a response to the statement made by Aretha Franklin.

Aretha has yet to comment on Glady’s recent comments.