I love, love crotchety old women. Nothing makes me happier than seeing a wizened old crone waving her cane to get the damn skanks off her lawn, and nothing against old men but they’re so commonplace that I’m kind of over it. Crotchety old women is where it’s at.
Turns out Etta James is ready to crotchet. The legendary R&B crooner wants to give Beyoncé a piece of her mind following the superstar’s performance of “At Last” at the Obama inauguration:
“I tell you that woman he had singing for him, singing my song, she gonna get her ass whupped,” James told an audience at the Paramount Theatre, sarcastically calling her “The great Beyoncé.”
James didn’t finish there.
“I can’t stand Beyoncé,” she spit out on an audio clip posted on Allhiphop.com, adding that Beyoncé “had no business … singing my song that I been singing forever.”
Now, it’s interesting that this is coming out now. I mean, I assume the whole reason Beyoncé picked that particular song was because she just portrayed Etta James in Cadillac Records. Etta didn’t have a problem with that performance though:
But while the many who walked the carpet couldn’t hold back their praise for her, the 27-year-old superstar told MTV she was waiting for the good news from just one more spectator before she could call it a day.
Luckily for her, that one person — Etta James herself — was in attendance.
“She is! Just imagine!” a nervous Beyoncé squealed, half in delight, half in fear. “She’s one of my heroes, and I always loved her voice, but now knowing what she’s been through, she’s one of my heroes. I’m not sure if she thought [I would be good] as her. I’m very, very nervous.
And now?
“I actually spoke with her and she told me, ‘I loved you from the first time you sung,’ ” Beyoncé beamed.
It couldn’t be because Etta doesn’t support Obama, could it? Because that would come across as petty. Not to mention crotchety.
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I wish Etta James would whup Beyonce’s ass. Someone has to do it. A “real” legend proposing the throw down? Icing on the cake.
Jrod better not hit Etta. She might hit him back.
!!!NEWS FLASH!!!!
Etta James is still alive!!!
Ha! Ha! She said “crotch”!
I love the Grey Goose background. Shouldn’t it’ve been Hennessey, or Crown Royal? It’s good cuz it comes in a bag!
Sorry, Queen Bee, but Beyonce just brings the awesome, abandoned dogs, fugly baby wear and all. Ms. James can certainly talk smack about B for singing “her” song, but she just looks like a crotchety hypocrite for fawning all over her last fall.
I love Grey Goose. Went out last night and the bar was out of the house vodka so the bartender gave me GG instead for the same price in my vodka martini. I probably should have stopped at one but I’m a sucker for a deal.
Does the grey goose get you loose, I heard it does for Fergie.
In anycase, I thought this was a right wing machine blog?!?! WTF Deceiver? Throwing Etta under the bus like that after she didn’t support Obama this whole time! Shame on you! The RNC is removing your “Special Friend” status and wants its McCain/Palin buttons back.
BigMomma: Etta? I’ll pass. Beyonce? Let me hit it!
I can imagine Etta James going into Yoda-mode now: “I’ll show you who’s Sasha Fierce, Missy!”
That’s what I say too. Except it’s “I probably should’ve stopped at one but I’m a sucker for alcohol.”
Partyin’ on a Wednesday? Oh to be a Deceiver writer.
*sigh*
I’ll thank you if you never compare me to Fergie again.
And I think my dad just had a heart attack hearing you accuse us of being a “right wing machine.” We’re definitely nonpartisan — Deceiver will throw anyone under the bus who deserves to be there — but there’s less to go around when the Democrats are in control of the legislative and executive branches. (That and I, the resident liberal, can’t always be bothered to write about politics when the glitterati provides endless fascinating material.)
I hope Glenn Miller whups her ass when she’s done with Beyonce.
What?? Etta James not for The ONE?? Thats impossible, after all the DNC said all black people were behind PEBO.
I know I should be wagging a finger at Etta for praising Beyonce then trashing her, but you know what? I would PAY to see Etta kick Beyonce’s ass. Hell, I’d pay to kick her ass myself, but to see Etta do it would be like a glimpse into heaven.
Chronic, d’ya think Etta could kick Beyonce’s ass? I mean, B’s taller and she probably has some sort of poison knives in her stilettos.
And Holly, we love you for exposing the hypocrisy of Hollywood. Keep up the good work!
I wondered aloud why Etta wasn’t singing and my husband snarked “what, from the grave?”
Huh. Guess I’m on top tonight.
Y’all look at that photo up there. People, Etta’s HAIR could kick Beyonce’s ass, until it got bored and climbed back onto Etta’s haid.
I look at that and I’m like, you know what, anybody who trashes Beoitchcey like that gets an A in my book. Go Team Etta!
i’m making popcorn so i can watch this “weave off” in the comforts of my home….you know etta will win this in the end…
MC Mom, Etta could kick Beyonce’s ass by just looking at her. She is true fierceness. Even Sasha Fierce has to bow down to that sheer bad assedness. And yeah, Beige has a point… Etta’s hair could make short work of Beyonce without the rest of Etta having to show up.
uh Minnow – TMI but thanks for sharing
Methinks perhaps Etta, being still alive and all, would rather have sung a song that has become her signature at the inaugural ball instead of having someone who acted as her continue to portray the role in real life.
Yes, Beyonce is way bigger than Etta, younger, and she probably kick boxes. However, Etta strikes me as a scrapper. She’d probably bite, scratch, head butt and do whatever it took to lay wasted to Sasha Fierce. How can we set this up?
Actually, Rocko, I’m thinking it’s more like a case that Etta would have preferred her song not be within 50 miles of the inaugeration, and as a staunch critic of our new-but-hardly-improved administration, I have to agree.
Kristine’s got the link but I read that in the midst of the speech Holly cited, Etta also declared, “Obama is not my president.” Which also kind of takes away the at-first-apparent hypocrisy here, because you can like and appreciate someone’s work and then hear about a decision they’ve made which causes you to lose your respect for them or even move from admiration to deep dislike.
As a postscript, stand where you want on the to-support-or-not-to-support debate, I personally find it really refreshing to have another reminder out there that our reasons for distrusting/disliking Obama aren’t motivated by race. Thanks, Etta. You go, girl.
ETTA JAMES IS TOO OLD NOW. SHE NEEDS TO REST. I UNDERSTAND HER IT REALLY HURTS WHEN SOMEONE ELSE SINGS YOUR SONG, EVEN MORE AT BIG EVENTS SUCH AS THE INAUGURATION. HOWEVER, SHE NEEDS TO CALM DOWN. BEYONCE IS YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL , SHE DID A GREAT JOB. I WISH SHE ASKED ETTA BEFORE TO PERFORM HER SONG . SHE DIDNT THEN SHE IS NOT WORTH ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT WE GIVE HER. HOW ABOUT THE SONG IF I WERE A BOY , DID SHE STEAL IT FROM THE YOUNG GIRL? IF YES THEN SHE IS A SELFISH BITCH.
The real hypocrisy here is that Obama didn’t ask Etta James to sing because she wasn’t an outspoken Obama supported. If Beyonce was anti-Obama would she have been up there? I’m just saying.
Beyonce just annoys me, always has so I would love Etta James to kick her ass! Heck, I would love it if anybody kicked her ass!
Hey, Nadine? They have this thing now, called a “Caps Lock” key. It is SO handy.
See what I did there?
Wow Nadine, your post hurts my eyes. The caps lock needs a rest after being on for so long.
Aside from the overuse of caplock, what the hell? Because Etta is old you have decided to go all “Logan’s Run” on her? Fact is, while yes, Beyonce can sing her bubblegum crap and is young and beautiful, she can only hope to one day have the international respect and admiration that Etta has attained.
Hmm…Catharine and Habanada may be on to something here. Maybe the inauguration committee wouldn’t invite Etta because she’s not pro-Obama? Or maybe they asked her and she refused on principle because she doesn’t support him?
And yes, you guys are probably right – while I love B and her ‘bubblegum crap,’ Etta’s hair could probably take her by itself.
I was surprised that Obie didn’t pick Etta to sing as well, if that’s the song that they had their hearts set on dancing too. But, if Heart can take Barracuda away from Palin, then Etta should be able to take her song away from Obie if she wants to, if she didn’t want to sing it for him.
Having said that, I have to say that BK was very good in Cadillac Records.
I like how Nadine is ready to put Etta out to pasture, so what about the Queen of Soul then?
They pulled Aretha out of cryogenic slumber just long enough to sing “My Country Tis of Thee” off key and 2 beats behind the band. And they made her wear a giant bow on her head!
What’s wrong with those people, traipsin’ around an old lady like that?
I haven’t been able to find out WHY Etta’s got no love for the big O. Anybody?
Inspired by the same question, Beige… oh, and the glaring headline… I did a little “digging” (okay, I clicked) and found this article: http://www.usmagazine.com/news/etta-james-kidding-about-beyonce-remarks. As such, I am even more confused. She clearly is does not worship Obama like the masses (because some of them might literally implode if they ever uttered the words “he’s not my president” even jokingly), but I’m not sure she’s quite the “no love” gal it seemed at first.
“I haven’t been able to find out WHY Etta’s got no love for the big O. Anybody?”
Maybe she just disagrees with him. Just because she’s black doesn’t mean she has to support a black candidate. Or even be a *choke* liberal.
Well, yeah, Pasta, true. I was just asking if anyone knew of an interview or outburst in which she spelled out why she in particular wasn’t in thrall.
Hee. “Thrall”. Your agonizer, please.
Heheh, just saw that one the other night, Beige! X-D