Last week, The News Nerd, a satirical publican, ran a story about R&B sensation Patti Labelle punching Aretha Franklin at an R&B/Soul concert.  Although The News Nerd intended to get a laugh from it’s readers, the R&B legend didn’t find it funny.

The News Nerd has a disclaimer saying that news is “purely satirical” and “for entertainment” purposes only. But, that isn’t stopping the Grammy Award winning singer from filing a $10 million lawsuit against The News Nerd for defamation of character.

According to Billboard.com, this statement was released. “The stories were not presented as satire or humor. It was presented as a serious news story intended to depict me in a slanderous and derogatory way — defamation of character,” Labelle said through her publicist Gwendolyn Quinn.

The fake story also claimed that Lebelle was arrested for Assault and Battery after punching Franklin.

“I’ve never heard anything crazier—regarding myself and Patti allegedly fighting on March 20, in Atlanta. On March 20, I was in New York City readying for my birthday patty (Sorry. LOL. Laughing at my typo error). I meant PARTY, which we all had one fabulous time. Patti and I are cool and we always have been. I enjoyed her at the White House. Classic Patti.”

The read The News Nerd story click here.

Darryl Robertson (@darryl_robertson)