Aretha Franklin on President Obama's 'R-E-S-P-E-C-T' flub: 'Spelling and giving it is a huge difference'

E! Online - Aretha Franklin realizes everyone make mistakes—even the President of the United States...

Mar 10, 2014

E! Online – Aretha Franklin realizes everyone make mistakes—even the President of the United States.

After Barack Obama botched the spelling of “Respect” during the White House’sWomen of Soul Event last week, the Queen of Soul herself released a statement regarding the politician’s flub. “I’m sure the President had much on his agenda and was just a little tired,” Franklin told E! News. “However, spelling and giving it, is a huge difference. The President and I are mutual when it comes to R-E-S-P-E-C-T.”

Obama paid tribute to Franklin Thursday for turning the 1965 classic into “a rallying cry for African Americans, women and anyone else who felt marginalized because of what they looked like, who they loved.” When he first introduced the singer, however, he misspelled “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” as “R-S-P-E-C-T.”

The audience laughed at his gaffe, but Obama soldiered on and continued to praise Franklin. “Later, when somebody asked her why it had such an impact, she said, ‘I guess everybody just wants a little respect,'” the married father of two said during the show, airing in April on PBS. “Today, they still do.”

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