Aretha Franklin’s family on Monday slammed the pastor at her funeral for delivering a eulogy that was “offensive and distasteful” while neglecting to honor the Queen of Soul.
Vaughn Franklin, the late singer’s nephew, criticized the Rev. Jasper Williams Jr. for disparaging single mothers and the Black Lives Matter movement during a speech meant to honor the legendary musician last week.
“He spoke for 50 minutes and at no time did he properly eulogize her,” Vaughn Franklin said in a statement delivered for the family.
His eulogy “caught the entire family off guard,” he added. “It has been very, very distasteful.”
Williams heard resistance from one of the event’s many celebrity guests. Singer Stevie Wonder yelled out “Black lives matter” after the pastor said, “No, black lives do not matter” during his eulogy.
The eulogist 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 also said “there are not fathers in the home no more” and said that a black woman cannot raise a black boy to be a man. Some people suggested that was disrespectful of Aretha Franklin, a single mother of four boys.
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.
Williams has not backed down from anything he said at the funeral, and said he respects the family’s opinion. “I understand it,” he said. “I regret it. But I’m sorry they feel that way.”
Williams had minimized the Black Lives Matter movement because of black-on-black crime. “Black lives must not matter until black people start respecting black lives and stop killing ourselves.”
Vaughn Franklin said the pastor’s words were unfortunate because everyone else who participated in the ceremony was very respectful.
