"She is the Queen of Soul. Long live the Queen."
Legendary singer Aretha Franklin is reported to currently be in “hospice care” while ‘gravely ill’ at her home in Detroit.
The 76-year-old Queen of Soul is said to be “surrounded” by her closest friends and family, after battling cancer and extensive health problems in recent years.
The legendary singer was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, and delivered her most recent performance at the Elton John AIDS Foundation party in New York last November.
Revealing the news in his Showbiz 411 Column, Roger Freidmann said: “Aretha is surrounded by family and people close to her. She will be so missed as a mother, sister, friend, cousin.But her legacy is larger than life. It’s not just that Rolling Stone called her the number 1 singer of all time, or that she is the Queen of Soul. Long live the Queen.”
Speaking to CNN, he revealed that a week ago the family were told “Prepare yourself, she’s dying.”
He added: “She has a great family, she’s surrounded by love, and the world is sending prayers. All further announcements will be made by her family. We just want to send love and prayers.”
This comes just nine months after her last performance at the Elton John AIDS Foundation party in New York. See footage below.
Aretha is widely considered to be one of the greatest singers of all time
Her close friend, morning anchor Evrod Cassimy, also confirmed that she was “gravely ill”.
BREAKING NEWS: I am so saddened to report that the Queen of Soul and my good friend, Aretha Franklin is gravely ill. I spoke with her family members this morning. She is asking for your prayers at this time. I’ll have more details as I’m allowed to release.
— Evrod Cassimy (@EvrodCassimy) August 13, 2018
In 2017, she was forced to deny a cruel death hoax, after a viral tweet claimed that she had passed away.
Responding to the hoax later the same day, she told Us Weekly in a statement: “I’m doing well generally, all test have come back good.”
She added: “I’ve lost a lot of weight due to side effects of medicine, it affects your weight … Thanxxxx for your concern.”
Aretha Franklin
In a legendary career spanning more than five decades as a soul superstar, Aretha has won 18 Grammy awards, shifted more than 75million records and performed at three presidential inaugurations – including that of Barack Obama in January 2009.
Her last record came in the form of 2017’s ‘A Brand New Me’, shortly before she announced her retirement.
“I must tell you, I am retiring this year. I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now”, she confirmed at the time.