GENERAL PRESS 24
Patti Labelle is one of music’s best vocalists. The legend is known for her high notes but has also become famous for her sass. The diva can be shady and has beefed with several other legends over the years. Let’s take a look at some of Auntie Patti’s tifts.
Patti Labelle claims that Aretha Franklin is one of her heroes and friends, but it has not always seemed that way. During an infamous White House performance, Aretha made sure to pause and give Patti a nasty glance while walking through the crowd to the stage. People believed the moment signified a beef between the ladies. Patti would later shut this down and claimed that Franklin apologized after and admitted to just having an off day.
During an episode of Drink Champs, Patti said, “After the White House, we spoke on the phone,” she told N.O.R.E. “She called me because she wanted to have her items in Walmart,” Patti recalled. “We talked about food; we talked about recording together this is after the White House.” This was a far cry from her claims in a 2014 episode of Watch What Happens Live. There, Labelle claims that she did not recall the “shade” and that the woman in the “green jacket” was not her.
Franklin added fuel to the fire by stating, “Ms. Patti’s gonna have to move that pie to the side,” in 2016 after launching her own line of foods. According to Patti, Aretha called her personally to sing for her, once in a ’90s tribute and again before her passing. They also had plans to collaborate. Patti was open during her time on Drink Champs about the unresolved tension between herself and singer Jazmine Sullivan.
According to Patti, she would always sing Jazmine her praises over the years but always felt slighted by the “Lions Tigers and Bears” vocalist, who is notoriously shy. “So she’s always had this love for me, but whenever I would see her, she’s shy, and I would give her all these props and stuff, and I’d say, ‘Baby girl, don’t like me.’ My feelings were hurt until last week.” Labelle says that a mutual designer friend set up a phone call for them to set things straight. Patti realized that it was all a misunderstanding and apologized for jumping to conclusions.
Patti Labelle has also had issues with Diana Ross. Both women got their start in girl groups. While Diana led The Supremes, Patti Labelle was a frontwoman for Labelle. She recalls how the groups would often get compared unfairly based off outfits and performances. Patti recalls Diana Ross coming in and seeing their outfits and then copying them shortly after.
Referring to the “My House” vocalist as “that little heffa,” Patti recalls how Ross and The Supremes would show up in identical outfits to them after running out to find them. Patti says she was so upset she wanted to pimp slap Diana Ross. To make matters worst, Labelle would go on stage after The Supremes, so it always looked like they copied them and not the other way around.
