After soul icon Aretha Franklin announced that actress Halle Berry would portray her in an upcoming movie based on her life, Berry recently expressed doubts that she would accept the offer.
According to ContactMusic.com, Berry told E! News’ Ryan Seacrest that she would be the wrong choice for the role because of her weak vocal ability.
“I can’t sing! If I could carry a tune, I’d consider it,” she said. “Someone should tell Aretha that I can’t do her justice.”
According to MTV News, Franklin told the Associated Press last year that she was interested in Berry’s participation in the project. The “Queen of Soul” told viewers on the “Wendy Williams Show” on Jan. 13 that Berry was set to star in the film.
“Halle Berry is my pick,” Franklin said during the phone-in interview, and added that Berry would portray an adult Aretha, while another actress who would depict a younger version of herself “as yet to be named.”
The film will be based on the 68-year-old singer’s 1999 autobiography “Aretha: From These Roots.” While on the Wendy Williams Show, Franklin also revealed that the film had been in the works for years, but indicated that production would commence as soon as the right elements fall in place.
“For the last four years, we’ve been talking about , and I have had a number of offers. Unfortunately, they were not good offers,” Franklin explained on the show, according to MTV. “Now we have something on the table.”
Franklin also announced in September that in addition to Berry, she was interested in having Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington and Oscar nominee Terrance Howard participate in the project. She added that both expressed enthusiasm for the project and had agreed to take on the roles.
The past two months have been rough for the singer. Many were concerned about her health when she had a series of undisclosed medical procedures done in December. Despite reports stating Franklin had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, she refuted the claims to the television show Access Hollywood on Jan. 13.
“Well, there was just so many wild things out there and just so many things being said that weren’t true,” Franklin told Access Hollywood. Though she confirmed that she did in fact receive numerous procedures to treat an undisclosed illness, she added, “I don’t know where ‘pancreatic cancer’ came from.”