Aretha Franklin is said to be “gravely ill”, according to multiple sources.
Yesterday, it was reported that the 76-year-old has been moved into hospice care in Detroit, where her family is currently gathered to say their last goodbyes.
Now, while the Queen of Soul is literally on her deathbed, the Mirror has decided to run a salacious story about the wild sex habits of her father, Clarence LaVaughan ‘CL’ Franklin, a Baptist minister who allegedly partook in bisexual orgies.
The British tabloid reports:
How about we take this to the next level?
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Behind the glamour, the 76-year-old singer has lived a dramatic life, from her teenage pregnancies to an “orgy-loving” father, alcoholism and abuse, according to David Ritz’ 2014 book, RESPECT.
Dad Clarence LaVaughan ‘CL’ Franklin was a prominent Baptist minister, whose church allegedly played host to wild orgies–the likes of which even promiscuous singer Ray Charles was surprised by.
In his book, Ritz quotes Charles as saying:
“When it came to pure sex, they were wilder than me–and that’s saying something. In those days I had a thing for orgies, but I had to be the only cat in the room with two or three chicks.”
“The gospel people didn’t think that way. The cats liked it with the cats and the chicks liked it with the chicks and no one minded mixing it up this way or that.”
The Mirror claims Aretha’s dad “preached and partied” at the church for years before eventually divorcing her mother.
Ritz also spoke to R&B and gospel singer Billy Preston, who told him the church was definitely more tolerant than others, though he never mentioned anything about any bisexual orgies.
“It was the church crowd where the vibe was wide open,” he said. “It was anything goes. In the community outside the church, gay men were called sissies. But inside the church, a lot of the music was created by gay men.”
Franklin’s career spans six decades and includes many iconic R&B hits, including “Respect,” “Chain of Fools” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”
rikard_pearson
at my age, just shy of 60, i probably consider the salacious stories in poor taste, but as a gay man raised in a shame culture, i’d like to see such stories as amusing anecdotes that don’t carry the same connotations today. we should be able to take a little pride in our misspent youth.
RIGay
Well said!
Rock-N-RollHS
OMG, a sensible comment about sex! You go!
Kangol
I’m so sad to hear about Aretha Franklin’s health decline and wish her the very best. She’s one of the greatest R&B and soul singers of all time, and over the years did so much for so many people. She was a very strong supporter of the Civil Rights Movement and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and, in part because of her father, a supporter of gay rights and equality from the beginning of her career. God bless her!
MacAdvisor
Does ANYONE at Queerty have even passing familiarity with the English language?!?! Are you people deliberately obtuse?
“As she lies on her deathbed.”
To indicate someone is reclining on a bed, ones writes a person “lays” on the bed. To “lie” on a bed is to be on a bed telling fibs. Trump lies on a bed, Aretha Franklin lays on her death bed.
Quite seriously, I will be very happy to teach an afternoon English usage class to your staff writers for free. I have friends in LA I can stay with and I can give you the basics in an afternoon. This headline is an embarrassment.
Kangol
Uh, maybe before going after Queerty’s editors, just look things up. Lie, in its various meanings, and lay, go back to English’s earliest history (the root is Indo-European), and Queerty is actually correct here.
“To lie” has two primary intransitive meanings (and many more, of course): “to lie down”, and “to lie” as in to tell a lie.
They are different verbs, both from Old English, of Germanic origin:
“to lie” (lie down, be recumbent) –> past tense: “lay” –> past participle: “lain”
“to lie” (to tell a lie)–> past tense: “lied”–> past participle: “lied”
VS:
“To lay” has one primary transitive meaning (among many others), “to set something down” or “to place oneself down or something down on a surface.”
“to lay” (to set oneself or an object down)–> past tense: “laid”–> past participle: “laid”
So: “She is lying on the bed, enjoying the sunlight.”
“Aretha Franklin lies on bed in the hospice.”
OR
“Donald Trump lies regularly.”
VS.
“We laid our coats on the sofa and then came into the dining room to eat.”
In case you have any questions, cf. Merriam Webster dictionary’s “Lie vs. Lay”. You can also look this up in the Oxford English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, Strunk & White, etc.
JayneEyre
Kangol is correct. I frequently take umbrage with “news” sources butchering the English language, but this one is find.
MacAdvisor
Kangol, dogs lie down, people lay down. This is that simple. One doesn’t suggest some one is lying, particularly in a headline. This is the difference between definition and usage.
Lacuevaman
Kangal-roo is an idiot.
yah_sure_youbetcha
No, lie is correct. Lay is a transitive verb. She’d lie down, but she’d lay a book down. Also, no need to go off on a tricky conjugation. Lots of people miss that one.
Bob LaBlah
MacAdvisor, be advised, you get what you pay for. lol lol
ROBTWILO
Yes, her passing was a great loss. Not that many left like her in the music world.
And, stop ripping on Fox News, everyone makes mistakes…Oh yeah, not everyone in LGBT Community is a Demorcrat. I respect all of our Presidents!
russdog
No. To make is simple to remember:
To LIE is to recline.
To LAY is to set or to put.
This headline is correct.
JayneEyre
When I first heard the news about Aretha this morning, I decided to see if there were any more reports on her. In doing so, I stumbled on some bio information about her. It was quite disturbing to learn that her first pregnancy was when she was 12 years old. Her life was chaotic, the poor thing. But, what really got to me was the news that the father this article is about ended up getting one of his church attendees pregnant when that young lady was only 12. This has bugged me all day long.
gregg2010
Kangol is absolutely correct, and he/she beat me to a response. “To lie” is “to recline” and does not take a direct object. “To lay” is “to place” and takes a direct object.
I lie, I lay, I have lain (down).
I lay, I laid, I have laid (the book on the table).
MacAdvisor
Gregg2010, the distinction is one of style and usage. One simply doesn’t write a headline that states someone is lying. They are laying down. They are laying in the their bed. It is not a matter of strict definition, but style.
Kieran
“Aretha Franklin’s bisexual, orgy-loving dad”
You say it like it’s a bad thing.
Rock-N-RollHS
Heeeello!
Snicky
Shameful that in the midst of her eminent death stories of her father surface. What about her accomplishments? Her pioneering and opening the way for others to follow? How she gained the title “Queen of Soul”? Sometimes when you have nothing positive to say, it’s best to remain silent Sheesh, smdh
Lacuevaman
for God’s sake stop spreading this s*it. Ms. Franklin is a world treasure. Spread THAT queerty.com….you opportunistic azzholes! R E S P E C T.
djmcgamester
What does her father’s behavior have to do with her? Stupid trash making it seems like she’s somehow diminished by what he’s done. People aren’t perfect. Get over it.
Bob LaBlah
Come back with some proof and we’ll talk. And to think I thought that it was disgusting to make a gay article out of the death of the ball players mother. This website has no shame whatsoever.