The 74-year-old singer told reporters she 'had the same disease' as Franklin while walking into the funeral on Friday.
Gladys Knight is paying tribute to her friend, Aretha Franklin.
The 74-year-old singer unexpectedly took the stage to perform two songs, "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water," at the Queen of Soul's celebration of life which took place at the Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, Michigan on Friday. Knight's performance comes just hours after she made headlines for seemingly revealing she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
While walking into the funeral, Knight told local station WDIV that she "had the same disease" as Franklin. Her rep told ET, however, that Knight "does not have pancreatic cancer. She is healthy."
Franklin died of advanced pancreatic cancer of the neuroendocrine type on Aug. 16. Shortly after her death, Knight remembered the late legend in an interview with ET. “It was more like us supporting each other,” she recalled of their rise to fame. “We are both blessed enough to be working all the time. So, if we were anywhere near where we were going to be playing, she would just show up. I would show up.”
“I love her and I respect who she was and who she is and all of those kinds of things," Knight added. "She was amazingly blessed. That’s the best way that I can put it.”
See more in the video below.
RELATED CONTENT:
