NEW YORK — Stevie Wonder visited an ailing Aretha Franklin at her Detroit home Tuesday.
Franklin’s publicist Gwendolyn Quinn said Tuesday that the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Franklin’s ex-husband, actor Glynn Turman, also visited her.
A person close to Franklin, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Monday that the singer is ill.
Franklin, 76, canceled concerts earlier this year after she was ordered by her doctor to rest. The Queen of Soul announced plans to retire last year, saying she would perform at “some select things.”
Fans, friends and musicians influenced by Franklin offered positive words to the iconic singer when news broke that she was ill, including Rod Stewart, Mariah Carey, Chaka Khan, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tyler Perry, Missy Elliott and Wayne Brady.
At her concert in Detroit on Monday with Jay-Z, Beyonce thanked Franklin for her “beautiful music” and said “we love you.” Former President Bill Clinton tweeted Monday that he and Hillary Clinton “are thinking about Aretha Franklin tonight & listening to her music that has been such an important part of our lives the last 50 years.”
“We hope you’ll lift her up by listening and sharing her songs that have meant the most to you,” Clinton wrote.
In an interview Monday, Emmy-winner Sterling K. Brown said, “May I wish the Queen of Soul all the best.”
“Your music has moved and inspired a generation,” he said, “so my prayers are with you. Wishing you all the best, queen.”
Actress-singer Mandy Moore, who stars in “This Is Us” with Brown, said Franklin has “the most incredible legacy.”
“Who is not a fan? I don’t think there is anyone that Aretha Franklin’s music has not touched or influenced in one way or another,” she said. “She’s the best of the best.”
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