Aretha Franklin’s family protest about National Geographic’s Genius: Aretha miniseries

Aretha Franklin’s family have denounced a new dramatisation of the music icon’s life, saying they were not consulted and “do not support” the show.

Genius: Aretha stars British Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo, and is being shown in eight parts on US channel National Geographic this week.

But the Queen of Soul’s family say they were cut out of the production process.

They have asked fans to boycott the series, saying: “This is about common, decent respect for our family.”

Franklin’s granddaughter Grace posted a video of her protesting against the show alongside her parents, siblings and friends last week.

In a the TikTok clip, they can be seen chanting: “This movie has to go! This movie has to go!”

“As the immediate family, we feel that it’s important to be involved with any biopic of my grandma’s life, as it’s hard to get any accurate depiction of anyone’s life without speaking to the ones closest to them,” she explained later in the video.

“During the process of writing, directing, and filming this movie, we’ve reached out to Genius as a family on multiple occasions where we have been disrespected and told we will not be worked with.

“As the immediate family – emphasis on immediate – we do not support this film and we ask that you also do not support this film, as we feel extremely disrespected, and we feel there will be many inaccuracies about my grandmother’s life.”

In a statement to The Root on March 17, a National Geographic rep noted the network had received the family’s message, acknowledging “their concern for Ms. Franklin’s legacy.” The rep added that the studio “worked with many people who knew Ms. Franklin,” including Clive Davis and “members of her family’s estate,” in order to make sure they told her story in “an honest and authentic” manner.

“The studio worked diligently to attain the endorsement of Aretha’s estate, which we are grateful to have,” the statement continued. “We think we have a shared goal here — to honor and celebrate the life and legacy of Aretha Franklin. We can tell you that everyone who worked on Genius: Aretha approached telling her story with the intention to respect Ms. Franklin in every aspect of the series and in every decision we made.”

Aretha Franklin was one of the biggest stars of pop, soul, gospel and R&B, who scored more than 100 hit singles on the US Billboard charts – from Chain of Fools and Respect to Think and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.

Her extraordinary success was matched by an equally dramatic personal life, in which she survived abusive relationships and worked with civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King.

A separate big-screen biopic of her life was already in production when she died of pancreatic cancer in 2018. Starring Jennifer Hudson, it has been produced with input from the family and is due to hit screens this summer.