Rev. Jasper Williams Jr. delivered the controversial eulogy at Aretha Franklin's funeral last Friday and has come under fire from the Queen of Soul’s family.
Vaughn Franklin, the late singer’s nephew, called the eulogy “offensive” and “distasteful” in a statement the family released to the Detroit Free Press Monday.
“Rev. Jasper Williams spent more than 50 minutes speaking and at no time did he properly eulogize her,” said Vaughn Franklin. “We feel that Rev. Jasper Williams, Jr. used this platform to push his negative agenda, which as a family, we do not agree with.”
In his eulogy, Rev. Williams claimed a black woman cannot raise a black boy to be a man, which some interpreted as an insult toward the “Respect” singer ― a single mother of four boys. He also talked about black-on-black crime, and described children who do not have a father in the family home as suffering from “abortion after birth.” He also made mention of the late Rev. C.L. Franklin not being a good father and thus the reason for the passion in the Queen of Souls songs.
Franklin said his aunt did not personally selected Williams, pastor of Salem Bible Church in Atlanta, for the role prior to her death, “because dying is a topic that she never discussed with anyone.”
The Rev. Jasper Williams has, however, stood by his comments take a look at the video below: