Etta James has reportedly risked alienating many of her fellow Americans - a recording has emerged which purports to show the blues legend launching a vicious rant against U.S. President Barack Obama and singer Beyonce Knowles. Celebrity website TMZ.com has an audio recording of what bosses claim is James blasting Knowles for singing a version of her song At Last for the new President after his Inauguration last month (Jan09).
Knowles, who portrays James in new movie Cadillac Records, belted out the blues icon's most famous tune as Obama and his wife, Michelle, shared their first dance as America's President and First Lady at the Neighborhood Ball in Washington, D.C. on 20 January (09).
But in the amazing audio - reportedly recorded at an Etta James concert in Seattle, Washington on 28 January (09) - a woman said to be the 60s legend is heard mocking Obama's looks and slamming Beyonce's performance.
In the recording, the woman apparently tells the audience, "You guys know your President right? You know the one with the big ears. Yeah, wait a minute, he ain't my President, he might be yours.
"I tell you that woman he had singing for him, singing my song, she gonna get her a** whipped. The great Beyonce! I can't stand Beyonce! She had no business up there singing... Singing my song that I've been singing forever."
Last month, James' son Donto told the New York Daily News his mother had watched the performance live on TV at home in California, and was delighted her love song had become a part of history.
He said, "She was looking forward to seeing it. She was honoured (and) she thought it was great. She's gotten emotional, just like everybody else."