Celebrity News

Aretha Franklin reignites old feud, rips Dionne Warwick

Aretha Franklin knows a thing or two about R-E-S-P-E-C-T — and she doesn’t care how long she has to wait to get it.

The legendary diva on Tuesday re­ignited a five-year feud with fellow singing star ­Dionne Warwick over comments Warwick made at the 2012 funeral of Whitney Houston.

The Queen of Soul blasted Warwick for spinning a “libelous” story about Franklin’s absence from the New Jersey funeral service and about Aretha being Houston’s godmother.

“She blatantly lied on me . . . fully well knowing what she was doing,” Franklin said Tuesday.

The 75-year-old “Respect” singer spoke out one day after sending a long, detailed fax to the media airing her years-old grievance with the 76-year-old “Walk On By” chanteuse.

During the funeral service, Warwick called out the absent Franklin by “introducing” her to the star-studded gathering.

“Ree’s not here, but she is here,” Warwick said, referring to Franklin by a nickname. “She loves Whitney as if she were born to her. She is her godmother.”

Franklin said she missed the funeral of the “I Will ­Always Love You” songstress in part due to swollen feet, but that night was able to keep her concert date at Radio City Music Hall.

Houston’s mom, Cissy Houston — who once sang backup for Franklin — confirmed that Aretha was not Whitney’s godmother.

Franklin gave a further explanation of her absence from the funeral.

“There’s been so much going on around her [Houston], around the service, around the drugs, around her and [Whitney’s ex-husband] Bobby [Brown] . . . I didn’t want to add anything to that,” she said.

Franklin went public last week about the feud after Warwick spotted her at the Tribeca Film Festival and tried to make amends.

“She said, ‘Give me a hug,’ ” Aretha recalled. “I said, ‘Oh hell no. You couldn’t be serious.’  We’ve never been friends and I don’t think that Dionne has ever liked me.”

In a statement, Warwick’s rep said she would not “dignify a response” to Aretha’s remarks.

With Post wire services