Legendary songstress Patti LaBelle and her team are reportedly “angry and heartbroken” after CNN’s documentary on the late legend Luther Vandross “paints her as a villain” for speaking on his sexuality and seemingly outing him as “gay.”
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According to Page Six, Patti LaBelle’s camp is fuming after they claim she was “painted as a villain” in a CNN documentary about one of her dearest friends, the late singer Luther Vandross.
Patti LaBelle, 80, and Luther Vandross were friends for decades. LaBelle was even super close with his family and helped to care for her dear friend after he suffered a stroke and “until the end.” On July 1, 2005, Luther Vandross died at the JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey, at the age of 54 due to complications of a stroke.
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On New Year’s Day (January 1, 2025) CNN aired their documentary on him, titled, ‘Luther: Never Too Much.’ However, before its premiere, sources close to Patti LaBelle reportedly became terrified to learn that she had reportedly been poorly portrayed in the CNN Luther Vandross documentary, being painted as one of the people who gossiped publicly about his sexuality, something he was notably private about.
Sources told Page Six that Patti LaBelle invited the producers behind the CNN Luther Vandross documentary over to her home, where they sat for an hour-long interview to share stories about her dear old friend. However, the producers apparently failed to include her interview because she refused to sign release forms after they failed to show her a final cut at her request.
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Subsequently, sources close to Patti LaBelle claim the camp feels as if CNN’s producers set her up and “painted her as a villain” by including a 2017 clip of her seemingly confirming years-long rumors about Luther Vandross’ sexuality during an appearance on Bravo’s ‘Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.’
Making things worse, LaBelle and Cohen’s comments followed comments made by Vandross’ songwriting partner, Richard Marx, who said, “One of the things that really pissed me off is there are people who have talked about his personal life, people who he considered friends.” When asked in interviews about his sexuality, Vandross told the public that it’s none of their “f***ing business” and to focus on his music and talent instead.
In the ‘WWHL‘ clip, Cohen asked LaBelle if Vandross struggled with talking about his sexuality and coming out. She said, “We talked about it… He did not want his mother to be [upset] — although she might have known — but, he wasn’t going to come out and say this to the world.” It’s reported that Patti LaBelle has been busing touring and hasn’t seen the documentary yet, but her camp isn’t happy with her portrayal.
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