February 6, 2009 16:09
Etta James 'didn't mean' Beyonce/Barack Obama slam
Singer did admit she was miffed about not being asked to sing
Etta James has claimed that she was joking when she said she would "whip Beyonce's ass" for singing her song 'At Last' at Barack Obama's inauguration ball in Washington DC.
James told the New York Daily News that her rant, which she made at a Seattle concert, was the result of her feeling left out at not being asked to sing for Obama herself, and that she did not mean to be malicious.
"I didn't really mean anything," she said. "Even as a little child, I've always had that comedian kind of attitude. That's probably what went into it."
James added that she was "feeling left out of something that was basically mine, that I had done every time you look around".
When asked if she thought she could have sung the song better than Beyonce, she said, "I think so. That's a shame to say that."
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