Aretha Franklin's Family Upset Over Rev. Jasper Williams Jr.'s "Offensive" Eulogy

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Aretha Franklin‘s family is speaking out after Rev. Jasper Williams Jr.‘s eulogy during the Queen of Soul’s funeral Friday. In what they’re calling “offensive”, Vaughn Franklin, Aretha’s nephew said, “Rev. Jasper Williams spent more than 50 minutes speaking and at no time did he properly eulogize her. We feel that Rev. Jasper Williams Jr. used this platform to push his negative agenda, which as a family, we do not agree with.”

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The senior pastor of Salem Baptist Church touched on a few topics that rubbed the family the wrong way, including#BlackLivesMatter and single parenting homes.

“If you choose to ask me today ‘do Black Lives Matter?’ let me answer like this: No, black lives do not matter. Black lives will not matter. Black lives ought not matter. Black lives should not matter, black lives must not matter until black people start respecting black lives and stop killing ourselves, black lives can never matter.”

And then there was the single women raising black men dig (the Queen famously raised four boys).

“A black woman cannot raise a black boy to be a man. Right in your own neighborhoods, where your church is, there are struggling single moms, that don’t know what to do. That needs a man in the house through mentoring programs and parenting our children, we can turn black America around. The Queen of Soul has spoken now, time now for black America to come back home.”

Rev. Williams has since clarified his statements in regards to the black-on-black crime. “I’m saying that when we as a race sit back and get mad, if a police officer kills one of us, and we don’t say anything when 100 of us are killed by us that something is wrong with that. I’m not saying that black lives do not matter in terms of the worth of a black life, but what I’m saying in essence is that it does not matter, ought not matter, should not matter, cannot matter until black people begin to — Aretha — R-E-S-P-E-C-T, respect black lives. Only then will black lives matter.”

Riiiight. Missed any of the performances? From Fantasia to Jennifer Hudson and Smokey Robinson, we’ve got you covered here.

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