Funerals are inherently uncomfortable: Loved ones are grieving, people are crying, and
everyone's extra-emotional in some way.
But add fame to the mix, and it can get even uglier.
From inheritance fights, to personal snubs, to awkward touching, these are the most uncomfortable
moments at celeb funerals.
Christina Aguilera's mysterious leak
Powerhouse songstress Christina Aguilera was no stranger to fake tans, especially during
her "Dirrty" and Stripped eras, but things got out of hand at Etta James' funeral in
2012.
"She was the one that cut right to my soul, and spoke to me.”
While her actual performance was moving, it was undermined by a mysterious drip down her
legs.
A source later revealed to The Daily Mail,
"[…] sweat on her leg caused a spray tan to streak.
Any person who wants to find something negative in such a beautiful moment should be ashamed.
Etta would be very disappointed.
Shame on people!"
Aretha Franklin's insulting eulogy
Reverend Jasper Williams conducted the eulogy at Aretha Franklin's funeral in August 2018,
but much of his speech seemingly insulted her lifestyle, according to People.
"A black woman cannot raise a black boy to be a man.”
The mag noted that Franklin successfully raised four boys as a single mother.
Her nephew Vaughn Franklin told People,
"We found the comments to be offensive and distasteful.
[…] We feel that [Williams] used this platform to push his negative agenda, which as a family,
we do not agree with."
But it wasn't the only unfortunate incident to happen at the service…
Too close for comfort
Ariana Grande performed "Natural Woman" at Aretha's funeral — which is a tall enough
order.
But it got even harder to maintain her composure when Bishop Charles H. Ellis II allegedly
groped her.
“Did ya'll enjoy this icon?
She's an icon herself.”
Ellis later sort of apologized, telling the Associated Press,
"It would never be my intention to touch any woman's breast.
[…] The last thing I want to do is to be a distraction to this day.
This is all about Aretha Franklin."
Fadi Fawaz' funeral faux pas
When George Michael died unexpectedly on Christmas Day 2016, the world was shocked and devastated.
But his funeral didn't go as planned, according to the singer's ex, Kenny Goss, who claimed
that Michael's on-again-off-again boyfriend, Fadi Fawaz, held up the funeral and skipped
the wake.
Goss told The Sun,
"I have no idea why Fadi would choose to be late for the funeral.
The rest of us were there 15 to 20 minutes early at least.
[…] The people on his row greeted him but I didn't see him talking to others."
Chester Bennington's family feud
Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington took his own life in August 2017.
But his ex-wife, Samantha Olit, was furious that she and their son weren't mentioned at
all during Bennington's funeral, which she claimed focused only on his life after remarrying
Talinda Bentley.
"He would have loved seeing us lift each other up.
F--- depression.
Let's make Chester proud.”
Olit wrote in a since-deleted Facebook post:
"My son & I have not had the opportunity to speak not even at his funeral.
[…] It was a disgusting delusional display on all people who spoke at the funeral & their
characters."
Olit also alleged that Bennington's parents, children's mothers, and siblings were omitted
from the program.
Zsa Zsa Gabor's final spectacle?
After actress and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor died in 2016, her husband, Frédéric Prinz
von Anhalt, reportedly sent out "fake" guest lists of celebrities he claimed were attending
her services…and who had no intentions of being there, according to Page Six.
The late actress's publicist, Edward Lozzi, griped to the tab,
"This funeral is fraudulent and despicable and a circus.
[…] He's padded the press release on what big stars are going to be appearing so he
gets more press."
"People who attack me because of my wife's funeral, they are low, low, low lunatics.”
Lozzi claimed that Anhalt was using Gabor's death as a cash-grab, with the hopes of later
selling photos, claiming,
"This is his last hurrah, his last party to get the most money as possible.
She was his golden goose."
Burt Reynolds' brother is left out
Smokey and the Bandit screen legend, Burt Reynolds, died of cardiac arrest in September
2018, at 82.
But in addition to questions about leaving his son, Quinton, out of his will, according
to TMZ — even Reynolds' funeral caused some controversy.
Radar Online reported Reynolds' ex-wife and Quinton's mother, Loni Anderson, chose to
exclude Reynolds' estranged brother, Jimmy, from the actor's funeral.
Jimmy's wife Maria Reynolds told the tab,
"No one at the funeral knew Burt like his brother.
[…] He looks back now and, of course, apologizes.
But to leave him out of the funeral is horrible.
It breaks his heart."