Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Barack and Michelle Obama Just Posted Powerful Tributes to Aretha Franklin, and People Are Getting Emotional

Barack and Michelle Obama Just Posted Powerful Tributes to Aretha Franklin, and People Are Getting Emotional
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 27: US President Barack Obama fist bumps with singer Aretha Franklin who sung during a farwell ceremony for Attorney General Eric Holder at the Justice Department February 27, 2015 in Washington, DC. The ceremony was held to unveil the Attorney Generals official portrait and commemorate his tenure before his expected departure from the department after more than six years of service. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

We're not crying, you're crying.

Former President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama tweeted touching tributes to soul legend Aretha Franklin, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 76 after battling pancreatic cancer.

"May the Queen of Soul rest in eternal peace."


The 44th president said Franklin, whose voice resonated behind the Civil Rights movement, "helped define the American experience."

"In her voice, we could feel our history, all of it and in every shade—our power and our pain, our darkness and our light, our quest for redemption and our hard-won respect," Obama wrote.

Obama also posted to Facebook.

"America has no royalty," the former president wrote. "But we do have a chance to earn something more enduring."

"She will forever be our Queen of Soul."

The former FLOTUS said listening to Franklin "made time stand still," and that she and her husband "are holding Aretha’s family in our hearts right now."

President Donald Trump also recognized Franklin's passing on Twitter.

A few hours later following a cabinet meeting, Trump managed to make Frankin's death about him, adding that Franklin had "worked for me on numerous occasions." Yes, really.

Twitter responded to the Obamas' tributes with reverence and grief.

"Please come back."

"This tweet is poetry. Both of your voices are missed."

"You are true class."

"And that fabulous hat!"

Here's how Hillary Clinton honored Franklin.

Replies to Trump, on the other hand, were far less cordial.

"Cold."

"You won't be missed." Ouch.

Oh, Donald.

Awkward.

More from People/donald-trump

The Creepiest Unexplainable Things People Have Seen With Their Own Eyes

As much as we might not want to admit it, there are some things in life that are hard, if not impossible, to explain.

That's all the harder to swallow when the unexplainable is also horrifyingly creepy.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gavin Newsom; Screenshot of JD Vance from AI-generated video
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images; @GovPressOffice/X

Gavin Newsom Just Epically Trolled JD Vance Over Tariffs With An AI Video About Couches

California Governor Gavin Newsom mocked Vice President JD Vance—and his love of couches—with an AI-generated video to troll him over the rising costs of goods due to President Donald Trump's retaliatory tariffs.

Earlier this week, Trump announced new tariffs: 10% on softwood timber and lumber, and 25% on “certain upholstered wooden products,” set to take effect October 14. The move follows Trump’s announcement last week of additional tariffs on kitchen cabinets, vanities, and other upholstered products, which will take effect October 1.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Kelly Clarkson's conversation with bus drivers from Texas flood
The Kelly Clarkson Show/YouTube

Kelly Clarkson Honors Texas Flood Heroes In Emotional Return To Her Talk Show Following Ex's Death

In July 2025, homes, businesses, Camp Mystic, and more were swept away when central Texas was devastated with severe flooding. At Camp Mystic alone, 27 campers and staff members, including the camp's director, died during the initial flood.

Many people were caught off guard by the flooding and were left stranded mid-flood, getting to the highest ground they could find while they waited and hoped for help to come.

Keep ReadingShow less
Walton Goggins; Pete Davidson
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images; Michael Loccisano/WireImage

Walton Goggins Speaks Out After Pete Davidson Predicts Fans Will 'Turn On' Him Like They Did Pedro Pascal

Pete Davidson went viral recently for calling out the weird online backlash to actor Pedro Pascal's unstoppable career trajectory in recent years.

And he thinks White Lotus star Walton Goggins is next.

Keep ReadingShow less
Alabama State University Honeybeez
@the.asuhoneybeez/Instagram

College Announcer Apologizes After Sparking Outrage With Body-Shaming Comment About Plus-Size Dance Team

In the United States, there are 107 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)—schools founded when segregation laws and racist policies kept Black men and women from higher education. The schools developed their own unique culture and customs around stepping, marching band, drum majors, and majorettes.

HBCU majorettes march with the band, dance, and have stand battles during games. The dance style and moves are unique to Black culture, but have spread beyond the HBCUs to high schools and dance schools across the country.

Keep ReadingShow less