Jennifer Hudson is starring in the upcoming biopic about legendary singer Aretha Franklin titled ‘Respect.’ In an interview, the award-winning singer revealed details from a phone call that she had with Franklin before she started working on the film and right before Franklin passed away at age 76 in 2018.
39-year-old Hudson said while on the call that Franklin sang to her, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “I truly miss hearing from her,” Hudson said. “The last time I heard her voice was August 8,‘ Jennifer explained. ’It’s odd that here we are again, on August 8, three years later,” she said.
“Right after we spoke, they told me she was no longer competent enough to speak but she sang to me on our call and we talked about my son and his cooking,” Hudson also said.
Supposedly Franklin handpicked Hudson to play her in the film after she watched Hudson’s iconic performance in the film ‘Dreamgirls.’ ‘Respect’ which premieres in the United States this Friday is about the legendary singer’s career starting from when she was a child singing in church.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hudson traveled to Detroit where Franklin was raised and to screen the film with her family who still live there. “They took me to her childhood home and we sat on the porch and reminisced,” Hudson said. “When people are icons and legends, people sometimes forget that there’s a person under there with a family. It was good to connect with them and acknowledge that. It was a beautiful moment.”
During the screening, Hudson said to the audience, “God bless Aretha and her legacy and her beautiful, beautiful family, who is her legacy. Thank you, Lord, for this opportunity. In Jesus’s name, Amen.”
