Aretha Franklin Is Alive Despite Death Rumors

Fans can breathe easy, Aretha Franklin is alive.

On Tuesday, a Twitter account shared news that Franklin had passed away, sending everyone into chaos. 

Soon, tweets flooded the social media site claiming the legendary singer was near death, predicting that 2017 would claim another icon. 

However, Emmy-winning host Shaun Robinson nixed those rumors, assuring everyone that Franklin was okay. 

“I just spoke to one of Ms. Franklin’s family friends in my hometown Detroit,” she tweeted. “They spoke to Aretha moments ago and asked me to tell you please don’t believe this news that was trending.”

Rumors of the iconic singer’s deteriorating health have been around since 2011 with stories surfacing that she was battling pancreatic cancer. Franklin squashed those stories in an interview with Robinson, saying, “I don’t know where ‘pancreatic cancer’ came from. I was sitting there reading the newspaper and it was saying someone in my family said that. No one in my family ever said that to anybody.”

Franklin announced her retirement earlier this year, adding that she may make select appearances, but won’t be doing anything major.