Pray for Aretha
QUEEN OF SOUL GRAVELY ILL
Aretha Franklin is said to be suffering major health woes, according to reports.
A source close to the “Queen of Soul” told The Associated Press on Monday that the 76-year-old star is “seriously ill,” but declined to provide further details.
A rep for the singer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
News that her health had taken a turn was met with an outpouring of support on social media from stars like Mariah Carey and Paula Abdul.
“Praying for the Queen of Soul,” Carey wrote on Twitter, while Abdul wrote she was sending "love, prayers and warm thoughts.”
Reps for Franklin were forced to refute rumors in November that the “Respect” singer had passed away after a bogus tweet had the news trending on Twitter.
Still, the star’s health has made news in recent years, as she’s been forced to cancel multiple concerts on doctors’ orders.
Franklin canceled a trio of concerts in August 2016, and backed out of a June 2017 show in Toronto.
She also nixed a pair of performances in March, including one in New Jersey, in order to get a doctors’ ordered two months of rest.
“She is extremely disappointed she cannot perform . . . as she had expected and hoped to,” her management said in a statement.
The 18-time Grammy winner said in a February 2017 interview that she would be retiring from live shows that year, and hoped to open a small nightclub in Detroit in her downtime.