An argument over whether or not Halle Berry ever played Aretha Franklin in a movie reportedly led to a shooting in Suffolk, Virginia Thursday morning.
Police told WTKR that the shooting happened at around 10:45 a.m. Thursday after an argument. A witness told WTKR that the argument centered on the late singer, who died early Thursday. Police said the fight turned physical, then one of the men involved pulled out a weapon, firing it at least once.
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Both men were treated by paramedics on the scene and rushed to the hospital. The gunshot victim is in serious condition.
The shooting remains under investigation.
At one point, Berry was Franklin’s hand-picked choice to play her in a long-gestating biopic, even though Berry does not sing herself. In 2011, Franklin told Wendy Williams Berry was her first choice. Berry later declined, saying she could not do Franklin justice.
“She was my first choice, everything’s subject to negotiation, and she shouldn’t underestimate her own talent,” Franklin told Williams. “There are a number of other leading ladies out there that can definitely handle the role. I never expected Halle to sing. She’s an actress, not a singer. Many actors have portrayed vocalists by lip-synching to the artists’ original recordings.”
In January 2018, Franklin then picked Oscar-winner and singer Jennifer Hudson to play her. The movie, which was to be produced by Straight Outta Compton‘s Scott Bernstein and Dreamgirls‘ Harvey Mason Jr., was to be based on Franklin’s autobiography Aretha: From These Roots.
Franklin died Thursday in Detroit after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
“In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart. We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family,” Franklin’s family said in a statement.
The family continued, “We have been deeply touched by the incredible outpouring of love and support we have received from close friends, supporters and fans all around the world. Thank you for your compassion and prayers. We have felt your love for Aretha and it brings us comfort to know that her legacy will live on. As we grieve, we ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time.”
“Aretha helped define the American experience. In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade—our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect,” former President Barack Obama tweeted. “May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace.”
Photo credit: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
