Beyonce's father says Aretha Franklin's criticism of his
daughter for referring to Tina Turner as "the Queen" at the Grammys
is "ridiculous."
A poster of Beyonce
Knowles' Shanghai concert, scheduled for November 5, at Shanghai
Grand Stage.
On Tuesday, the Queen of Soul let everyone know her royal
feathers were ruffled when Beyonce called Turner "The Queen" before
their joint performance Sunday at the Grammys. Franklin, who also
performed at the ceremony, was sitting in the audience: Beyonce did
reference her along with other top female singers before
introducing Turner.
"I am not sure of whose toes I may have stepped on or whose ego
I may have bruised between the Grammy writers and Beyonce,"
Franklin said in a statement issued by her publicist. "However, I
dismissed it as a cheap shot for controversy."
However, in an interview with CelebTV.com posted Wednesday,
Matthew Knowles, Beyonce's father and manager, said: "I am not
taking something this ridiculous to Beyonce. Beyonce referred to
Tina Turner as a 'queen.' Not queen of gospel, queen of soul, queen
of blues, Queen of England. I consider my wife a queen and
sometimes call her that. Does Aretha have a problem with that?"
No comment is available at present.
An e-mail request for comment from Franklin's representative was
not immediately returned. However, in her statement on Tuesday,
Franklin made clear she wasn't holding a grudge toward Beyonce,
ending her statement by giving the Grammys thanks and "love to
Beyonce anyway."
(China Daily/Agencies February 15, 2008)
