Aretha Franklin reacts to ruling on screening of documentary

DENVER (AP) — Aretha Franklin is expressing her relief after a judge blocked The Telluride Film Festival screening of a documentary about a 1972 concert without the singer’s consent.

Franklin said in a statement issued last weekend: “Justice, respect and what is right prevailed and one’s right to own their own self-image.”

U.S. District Judge John L. Kane issued his order in Denver about three hours before last Friday’s screening of “Amazing Grace.” Franklin testified by telephone from Detroit that she had objected to use of the concert footage in the documentary for years.

Attorneys for the film festival argued that a recently discovered 1968 contract that Franklin signed allowed the use of the footage. But Kane said that document appeared to only relate to her music recordings.