According to the Associated Press, Queen of Soul and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame history-maker Aretha Franklin passed away Thursday morning (August 16) in her Detroit home.
The 76-year-old soul music icon’s publicist confirmed her death to AP in a family statement, explaining that she fatally succumbed to her battle with pancreatic cancer.
“In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart,” the statement reportedly reads. “We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family.”
The news comes after earlier reports that she had fallen “gravely ill,” and had entered hospice care. More recently, she returned to her home, where sources have unfortunately reported that she has died.
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