Aretha Franklin has revealed plans to sue the writer of a newly released unauthorised biography.
The singer is said to be furious with David Ritz - who ghostwrote 1999 autobiography 'From These Roots' - over his new tell-all 'Respect', and brands the claims in the book "lies, lies, lies".
Speaking to the Detroit News newspaper she explained: "There's a very trashy, trashy book on the street... It's lies, lies, lies and then more lies.
"I'm talking to a criminal attorney. If this isn't defamation, I don't know what would be."
Believed to be upset about claims made about her sexual promiscuity on the gospel circuit back in the 1950s, the author claims the material was cut from her original autobiography.
Etta James is quoted as saying: "I can understand Aretha not wanting to talk about that... Who wants to admit that you're praising the Lord at the 8 p.m. service and servicing some drop-dead gorgeous hunk of a singer an hour later? Aretha and I started out before we were teenagers... we wanted to experience it all. I wouldn't use the expression sexually active, I'd say sexually overactive."
Whilst he has caused upset to Aretha through the book, David insists it was actually meant as a tribute.
Speaking to the New York Post newspaper's Page Six column he stated: "I spent 25 years researching 'Respect.' I see my book as an homage to Aretha's artistic genius and an empathetic portrait of a woman who has survived and thrived in the complex culture of show business."
Tagged in Aretha Franklin