Showing posts with label Aretha Franklin family not happy with pastor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aretha Franklin family not happy with pastor. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 04, 2018

Aretha Franklin's family says pastor's eulogy was offensive

The late Aretha Franklin's family said Monday that it found an Atlanta pastor's eulogy delivered at the Queen of Soul's funeral last week to be offensive and distasteful.

The eulogist, the Rev. Jasper Williams Jr., was criticized for a political address at the Friday funeral that described children being in a home without a father as "abortion after birth" and said black lives do not matter unless blacks stop killing each other.

"He spoke for 50 minutes and at no time did he properly eulogize her," said Vaughn Franklin, the late singer's nephew, who said he was delivering a statement for the family.

Franklin said that his aunt never asked Williams to eulogize her, since she didn't talk about plans for her own funeral. The family selected Williams because he has spoken at other family memorials in the past, most prominently at the funeral for Franklin's father, minister and civil rights activist C.L. Franklin, 34 years ago.

His eulogy "caught the entire family off guard," Vaughn Franklin said. The family had not discussed what Williams would say in advance, he said.

"It has been very, very distasteful," he said.

He said it was unfortunate because everyone else who participated in the ceremony was very respectful.

[SOURCE NBC NEWS]