Music

Aretha Franklin Responds To Death Rumors, Says 'I'm Doing Well'

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By Dianne Gebauer/

The Queen of Soul says she's doing just fine.

Aretha Franklin was recently forced to respond to rumors of her death, which ran rampant on social media on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017. "I'm doing well generally, all test[s] have come back good," the 75-year-old told Us Weekly in an exclusive statement. "I've lost a lot of weight due to side effects of medicine, it affects your weight...Thanxxxx for your concern."

Early Tuesday morning, a fake Twitter account falsely reported that the "Respect" singer had passed away. "It Is With Sad News That We Announce the Passing Of The 'Queen Of Soul' Aretha Franklin 1942-2017," the tweet read. Fans assumed the post, which garnered over 15,000 mentions, was true, and the hashtag #RIPArethaFranklin soon began trending.

Franklin's rep and longtime friend, Shaun Robinson, was quick to dismiss the rumor and tweeted an update on the legendary singer's health. "Good Morning, Everyone. I just spoke to one of Ms. Franklin's family friends in my hometown Detroit," the Access Hollywood host wrote. "They spoke to Aretha moments ago and asked me to tell you please don't believe this news that was trending. Have a good day." 

This is not the first time Franklin has addressed public concerns for her health. According to Us Weekly, rumors that she was fighting pancreatic cancer surfaced in 2011. "I don't know where 'pancreatic cancer' came from," the 18-time Grammy winner told Robinson on Access Hollywood at the time. "I was sitting there reading the newspaper and it was saying someone in my family said that. No one in my family ever said that to anybody."

Franklin, who made headlines earlier this year when she reignited her longtime feud with Dionne Warwick, announced her retirement in February 2017. "I must tell you, I am retiring this year," she said during an interview with WDIV Local 4 in Detroit. "I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now. I'll be pretty much satisfied, but I'm not going to go anywhere and just sit down and do nothing. That wouldn't be good either." The "Think" singer later announced that her post-retirement plans include opening a nightclub.

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