Disrespect? Fox News Uses Patti LaBelle Image to Report Aretha Franklin’s Death (Video)

“Oh, #foxnews –all black people look alike right?”

and

Aretha Franklin fans say Fox News should have showed more R-E-S-P-E-C-T after it used an image of Patti LaBelle on Thursday in an image used to report Franklin’s death.

The error was caught by online observers who noticed that the picture at the end of the obit featured LaBelle singing “Over the Rainbow” during a “Women of Soul: In Performance at the White House” special, which aired on PBS in 2014.

The image featured Franklin in the foreground and LaBelle in the background.

“We sincerely apologize to Aretha Franklin’s family and friends,” Jessica Santostefano, Vice President, Media Desk at Fox News told TheWrap in a statement. “Our intention was to honor the icon using a secondary image of her performing with Patti LaBelle in the full screen graphic, but the image of Ms. Franklin was obscured in that process, which we deeply regret.”

You can watch the original LaBelle performance below:

People on Twitter were quick to call out the network.

“Oh, #foxnews –all black people look alike right? Jesus, mary and Joseph…that’s..well not surprising. It is #FauxNews after all,” tweeted Kim Brixton, a Michigan radio host.

Franklin, who rose to fame in the 1960s with hits like “Respect” and “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman,” died Thursday in Detroit at the age of 76.

LaBelle, meanwhile, posted a tribute to Franklin on Twitter, calling her “a rare treasure whose unmatched musical genius helped craft the soundtrack to the lives of so many.”

Here are some of the reactions to Fox News’ mistake:

Comments