Aretha ditches burger bar being shown no R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Aretha Franklin has revealed that she recently had a run-in with a waitress who failed to show her enough “R-E-S-P-E-C-T”.

The legendary soul singer, 72, recalled that after ordering a takeaway meal at a branch of North American hamburger chain Johnny Rockets in Niagara Falls, Canada following a gig nearby, she sat down at the nearest empty table to wait for her order to arrive.

However, she was promptly told by one of the eatery’s employees that she was not allowed to sit at the table.

“I said, ‘Excuse me, what do you mean I can’t sit here?” Franklin recalled in an interview with the New York Daily News. The employee then informed Franklin that the tables were for “eat-in customers” only.

“I said, ‘OK, I’ll have it here,'” the Queen of Soul replied, only to be told by the waitress: “You can’t have it here because we’ve already rang you up as a takeout customer.”

“I got up and walked out,” Franklin continued. “I said, ‘You should eat it yourself and you pay for it.'”

Franklin added that her nephew, who was with her at the time, then asked the waitress if she knew who the singer was – and apparently got the response: “I don’t care who she is.”

Franklin said of the waitress’s behaviour: “She’s a public servant and she shouldn’t speak that way to anybody. Celebrities or non-celebrities, it’s not right.”

A representative for Johnny Rockets has since apologised for the actions of what it called “a new and very young employee”, and Franklin has vowed to go on ordering burgers at the chain, saying: “I like Johnny Rockets and I’ll go on liking Johnny Rockets, but not that one.”

Earlier this year, a gif of Franklin appearing to snub fellow soul diva Patti Labelle went viral – check it out here.