Aretha Franklin is reportedly “gravely ill” in Detroit, surrounded by her friends and family.

The original Queen of Soul, 76, is understood to be fighting for her life in her home state of Michigan, according to veteran reporter Roger Friedman.

Writing in his Showbiz 411 column, he said: “Aretha is surrounded by family and people close to her. She will be so missed as a mother, sister, friend, cousin. But her legacy is larger than life.

“It’s not just that Rolling Stone called her the number 1 singer of all time, or that she is the Queen of Soul. Long live the Queen.

Standard Online has contacted representatives for Franklin for comment.

Shortly before her birthday in March, Franklin was forced to cancel two upcoming performances when doctor’s ordered her to rest.

Franklin had been due to perform at the New Jersey Performing Arts Centre and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

But in a statement released by her team at the time, it was revealed that an “extremely disappointed” Franklin had been ordered to “rest completely” for two months.

Her last performance was in November 2017 at the Elton John AIDS Foundation gala in New York.

There, she was hailed as “the greatest singer of all time” as she gave a rare performance at the close of last night’s event, hosted by How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris.

Source: standard