Ashanti shared the most perplexing Aretha Franklin tribute we could have imagined

It involves SARS.

Aretha Franklin passed away on Thursday, and fans and celebrities alike have been flocking to social media to praise the singer and her contributions to music.

From the Obamas to Ariana Grande, nearly everyone's tributes to the queen of soul have been lovely. Ashanti's tribute to Franklin, however, is a head scratcher.

The singer posted a photograph of herself and Franklin on Instagram on Thursday, and shared what she describes as a "special moment" speaking on the phone with Franklin in 2003 when Ashanti was in Canada for a concert.

According to the post, Franklin called the singer's mother and asked to speak with Ashanti about "germs."

"I get on the phone and I’m like oh my gosh I can’t believe this is this really Ms. Aretha Franklin," she wrote. "She says 'Yes it is baby I’m just calling to tell you to be careful out there you know they got that SARS stuff going on...don’t touch any of the door knobs and hurry up and get out of there! I don’t want you to get sick!'"

Ashanti, this is maybe not what we need right now. The story doesn't do much to honor Franklin's legacy. It's just kind of an odd story.

But I get it -- if Franklin ever spoke to me about pretty much anything, I would have been over the moon, too.

[H/T: BuzzFeed]

Topics Instagram Music

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