The family of legendary singer Aretha Franklin is NOT here for the upcoming Nat Geo GENIUS biopic series (that features Cynthia Erivo - not to be confused with the Jennifer Hudson-led one). They are asking fans to boycott the project after producers were allegedly “disrespectful” to them and refused to work with them on the series.
Peep videos and pics of her the singer’s young family members protecting her legacy inside…
#JUSTICEFORTHEQUEEN!
Aretha Franklin’s family is protecting the legendary singer’s legacy and publicly blasting producers for having AUDACITY.
Several of the Queen of Soul’s family members – including her granddaughters Victorie & Grace Franklin – are protesting the series and are asking fans to BOYCOTT the upcoming anthology series “GENIUS: Aretha,” starring Cynthia Erivo. It's set to premiere March 21st.
NOTE: There’s another Aretha Franklin biopic starring Jennifer Hudson in the works.
When it was first announced Cynthia would be starring as Aretha in the series, the show was billed as the “first-ever, definitive and only authorized scripted limited series on the life of the musical icon.”
OH? Well, that’s not what the family claims.
In a video shared on social media, the Queen of Soul’s granddaughter Grace hit the streets of Detroit (Aretha’s hometown) to protest the series and she also put the network on blast. The family has been “disrespected” by producers and they allegedly refused to work with them on the biopic. They were protesting at Monroe Street Drive-In where a screening was held days earlier.
While there has been controversy about British actress Cynthia Erivo playing the iconic singer, Grace said they have no issues with any of the actors.
Check it:
Another one of Aretha’s granddaughters – Victorie – also took to social media to spread the word:
Last month, Aretha's son, Kecalf Franklin, hopped on social media to air out his frustrations with the series, saying the family DOES NOT support it.
Suzan-Lori Parks, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who is head writer and an executive producer of the Franklin series, responded to Kecalf's IG post, telling the Detroit Free Press:
"As the showrunner of 'Genius: Aretha,' I can tell you that every single day (and twice on Sunday!) — through COVID, social unrest, and every other challenge we faced — our intention was to respect Ms. Franklin in every aspect of our show and in every decision we made," Parks wrote.
"As ‘The Queen,’ she is deserving of every single celebration of her life that the world can muster. We worked with many people who knew Ms. Franklin — from Clive Davis to representatives of her family’s estate — to make sure we told her story in an honest and authentic way. And, on a personal note, as a Black American woman, I was taught at a very young age that soul is universal. Our series is all about soul, and we are honoring the life and soul of Aretha Franklin.”
Interesting.
“It’s hard to get any accurate depiction of anyone’s life without speaking to the ones closest to them,” Grace said in her video.
And she’s right. How are they going to make a biopic about someone’s life without the blessing of the family? Just rude and disrespectful.
Besides, Auntie Aretha said she only wanted Halle Berry or Jennifer Hudson to play her in a biopic before she passed away in 2018. And that’s that on that.
The limited series was originally scheduled to be released right before Memorial Day Weekend 2020, but COVID pushed it back. The plan was to have each episode air over four consecutive nights in late May 2020, days before the EMMY Awards’ eligibility period ended (May 31st).
"GENUIS: Aretha" premieres March 21st at 9pm EST on Nat Geo.
RESPECT, starring Jennifer Hudson, is set to drop in August 2021.
Photo: Victorie's IG
source: theybf
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