The day after our beloved Aretha Franklin was laid to rest, her dear friend, Smokey Robinson, has a stern message for pop singer, Ariana Grande. In case y’all missed the mayhem and backlash Ariana caused worldwide, it was all because of her fashion decision at the funeral. She performed at Aretha’s homegoing, but the attention her skimpy dress caused outweighed her performance and Smokey is one of the many who feel that Ariana should have known better.
Smokey: “Somebody Should Have Told Her She Was Going To A Funeral
Smokey Robinson and Aretha were friends since he was 8 years old and their outspoken personalities are probably why they meshed so well. Smokey displayed that same straight forwardness when it came to his views about Ariana Grande. On Friday (Aug. 31) evening, Smokey was returning from Aretha’s Detroit, MI funeral, when he was stopped by paparazzi at LAX airport. The Motown legend was asked about his thoughts on Ariana’s black thigh-high, sleeveless dress and he had a few choice words for her and her team. At first he tried to keep his response generic, by starting off with this:
Smokey Robinson- “Well you know, she’s a young woman…she’s a young woman and she’s doing her thing.”
The he turned into the keep-it-real Smokey that we know him to be:
SR- “Yeah I think it was inappropriate. I do…I love her… I think she’s a great talent. Somebody in her camp should have told her she was at a funeral and not let that happened” Smokey barked.
When asked if he felt that Ariana was intentionally trying to be disrespectful to Aretha and all in attendance, Smokey thinks she just doesn’t know any better, but someone around her should:
SR- “Well, I don’t think she was trying to be disrespectful, it’s just…it was inappropriate and somebody in her camp should’ve TOLD her that, ya know.”
Smokey On Fans Bashing Aretha’s Funeral As “Too Political”
They then switched topics and Smokey was asked what he thought about some conservative fans feeling that Aretha’s funeral was “too political.” There were many political figures and civil rights activists in attendance, including Nation of Islam leader, Minister Louis Farakkhan; Rev. Jesse Jackson; former president Bill Clinton, former presidential runner-up, Hillary Clinton; Rev. Al Sharpton and many more. Here’s Smokey’s reaction to Aretha’s funeral haters though:
SR- “No I don’t, because Aretha was an activist and she was a very strong woman. And They were just giving her props and letting people know that she wasn’t only a singer, she was an activist and she was very powerful in the civil rights movement.”
Smokey & Al Sharpton React To Trump’s Disrespectful Tweet About Aretha
As far as Donald Trump stating that Aretha “worked for” him, Smokey’s response was classic:
SR- “Well…ya know what does he say? He says something stupid everyday so…”
Following Aretha’s passing, Trump tweeted condolences that seemingly made Aretha look like one of his employees as opposed to the Queen/mega-superstar music icon that she is:
Trump- “I want to begin today by expressing my condolences to the family of a person I knew well — she worked for me on numerous occasions.”
At the funeral, Al Sharpton- another good friend of Aretha’s- corrected Trump and it was epic:
Rev. Al Sharpton at Aretha Franklin's funeral: "When word went out that Ms. Franklin passed, Trump said she used to work for me. No, she used to perform for you. She worked for us." https://t.co/qSW5iZgtqR pic.twitter.com/QrvJrR4kw3
— ABC News (@ABC) August 31, 2018
Sharpton- “I want to begin today by expressing my condolences to the family of a person I knew well — she worked for me on numerous occasions. When word went out that Ms. Franklin passed, Trump said, ‘She used to work for me. .. No, she used to perform for you. She worked for us. She stood for something, she never shamed us she never disgraced us. … She represented the best in our community, and she fought for our community until the end.”
And BOOM! Rev. Sharpton checked Trump in a way that probably would’ve made Aretha- our beloved Queen of shade- smile, LOL. Rest on Aretha, after a beautiful job well done.
