Aretha Franklin’s youngest son isn’t looking forward to the release of Respect, the upcoming Jennifer Hudson-lead biopic chronicling his mother’s legacy. In a Facebook rant posted last Saturday (Jan. 4), Kecalf Franklin blasted the film and a book of portraits of Aretha authored by her longtime friend and photographer, Linda Solomon.
“One again..the Franklin family (does not) support the movie that is in production!!! Nor do we support the book ‘The Queen Next Door’!! Neither entity felt the need to contact the (core) family about anything,” the 49-year-old Michigan native wrote in all caps. “How can you make a movie about a person and not talk to the persons [sic] sons or grandchildren about important information?How can you put a persons [sic] family (image) in a book and not ask permission? If you are a ‘real’ fan of my mothers [sic]…please do not support this. Ask yourself…would you want this done to you?”
Despite his disdain for the film, Kecalf noted that Aretha wanted Hudson to play her in a biopic. “The ‘ONLY’ person my mother was in favor of for the movie was Jennifer Hudson. Period. Everything else is being done against our wishes.”
David Bennett, the Queen of Soul’s longtime attorney, told the Detroit Free Press that Kecalf’s social media post stems from an ongoing estate battle within the family as Aretha did not have an updated will at the time of her death. “This is all about his attempts to become the personal representative of the estate,” Bennett said.
Last year, Kecalf filed court documents in hopes of being named executor of his mother’s estate and eventually replacing her niece, Sabrina Owens. The music legend, who had four sons, died from pancreatic cancer in 2018.
Respect is slated for release on Oct. 9, 2020.