It’s been quite an eventful past few days for the legendary Gladys Knight. At Aretha’s funeral, she stirred up mass hysteria when she said that she and Aretha had “the same disease.” Then her publicist spoke out, stating that Gladys “is fine,” without giving any further clarity on why Gladys says she had a “disease.” After fans continued to wonder why in the world would Gladys claim to have and/or had a disease then recant via her publicist, Gladys has now spoken out to clear things up.
Gladys Reveals Which “Disease” She Actually Had
In a brief interview with TMZ, Gladys says her words were taken out of context:
Gladys just told TMZ, “I’d like to clarify that Aretha and I discussed both of us having cancer, mine was stage 1 breast cancer and hers was pancreatic. Due to early detection, I am cancer-free and grateful for that.”
Gladys continues, “It is unfortunate that on a day we should be celebrating Aretha’s life and massive contribution to our world, a reporter who did not relay accurate information has missed the message. I send my love to the entire Franklin family and my gratitude to them for sharing such an extraordinary person with us.”
Thankfully, Gladys is in fact fine, just like her publicist said. She’s overcome her battle with breast cancer.
In Case Y’all Missed It
In case y’all missed what caused all of the confusion regarding Gladys Knights claims prior to now, here’s what we previously reported…
As Gladys entered Greater Grace Temple for Aretha’s funeral, she did a brief interview with WDIV TV, about her beloved friend and the last days she’d spent with her. Initially everything was all good with Knight’s interview. She referred to Aretha as a “queen” and “my sister.” Then came the bombshell drop about Gladys having the “same disease” as Ms. Franklin:
“The last time I talked to her, we were at the same hotel and we didn’t know it,” recalled Gladys Knight, detailing that they soon “got to talking and everything and at that time we shared the fact that we had the same disease.”
‘WAIT…run that back Gladys?!!’ was pretty much everyone’s reaction to Knight’s low-key “disease” admission. Why? Because as most have heard, Aretha succumbed to complications from pancreatic cancer. Thus, the general assumption, by most fans, was that Gladys had just revealed that she too had and/or has pancreatic cancer.
Soon as the interview hit the internet, sadness and shock spread across these social media streets quicker than Gladys could get a midnight train to Georgia…and understandably so. Fans were panting, crying, and worrying because we all thought that we were about to lose another soul icon. Here are just a few of the comments:
ohmb****: “No! oh my Jesus. Prayers up for sustaining the Empress, Gladys Knight.”
LaVerne9*******: “GOD R FATHER PLZ STEP N & HEAL, ONLY U CAN DO IT FATHER. FATHER U PROMISE NEVER 2 LEAVE US OR FORSAKE US. WE NEED U FATHER!”
jazzy_ja*****: “praying for you Aunty Gladys”
@klou*****: “Oh Lord no, the devil is a LIAR! Sending up prayers of healing for Gladys. 🙏🙏”
barbre*****: “No.. @MsGladysKnight On my knees praying, can’t stand to loose another icon….”
Knight Recants Statement, But…
Hours after Gladys caused an emotional frenzy on live television with her “disease” revelation, she recanted her statement via her publicist, who denied everything on behalf of Ms. Knight. Here’s what he told Detroit News:
Jay D. Schwartz, her publicist, told The Detroit News on Friday afternoon that Knight “does not have pancreatic cancer. She is fine.”
When further probed about what exactly Gladys was admitting to having during her interview, Schwartz told Detroit News that he has no clue what “disease” Gladys is referring to.
Welp, now we all know what Gladys was referring to and we’re just happy that she’s A-okay.
