Aretha Franklin (left) and Cissy Houston
Greg Allen/REX USA; AP
The Queen has spoken. Aretha Franklin angrily denies reports that she was barred from attending Whitney Houston's funeral because of comments she made about parenting last Friday on NBC's Today show. The Queen of Soul, 69, did not attend Saturday's funeral, citing leg spasms. But some reports said Houston's mother Cissy told her not to attend, after Franklin said on Today that "parents have to really talk to their children before they leave home." In a statement Wednesday, Franklin said she was speaking generally, not about the Houstons, and that NBC cut a line where she said, "This is no reflection on Cissy or Nippy's upbringing." She then slammed media reports of a rift between her and Cissy. PHOTOS: Goodbye, Whitney: Famous Friends, Sad Hearts "Extra TV, the New York Post and Newsday (New York) should stop the BS," Franklin said in a statement "Cissy Houston and I have been longtime friends for almost 50 years. I have four invitations and parking passes that were sent to me for the funeral. Extra TV, the New York Post and Newsday (New York) are more interested in sensationalism and negative speculations than the truth." She added: "Cissy does not need ridiculous speculation and neither do I – particularly at this time … Knowing Cissy as well as I do, I know Whitney left home right and properly. I was generalizing and it was a well-intended statement for any young adult coming into the music industry. I was not speaking of anyone specifically."