Aretha Franklin's Hat

Did Aretha’s Inauguration Hat Have More Diva Attitude Than The Queen of Soul Herself?

Luke Song, the hatmaker who designed Aretha Franklin’s infamous Inauguration Day hat, is suing several firms he’d previously done business with who’ve copied and sold the hat without his permission. In the federal lawsuit he filed last week, Song alleged:

Moza’s hat worn by Aretha Franklin (hereinafter the “Original Inauguration Hat”) gained instantaneous fame and notoriety, attracting much more media attention than even Aretha Franklin’s performance itself. The Original Inauguration Hat has generated, and continues to generate, worldwide attention. In fact, following President Obama’s inauguration, Luke Song and Moza were featured in prominent newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Los Angeles Times (Exh. D) The Original Inaugural Hat had immediately become such a cultural icon that it was soon parodied by entertainers such as Ellen DeGeneres because of its lavish and ornate design was so distinctive.

Wonder what Aretha thinks about The Hat upstaging her performance. What do you think? Was The Hat a bigger diva on Inauguration Day?

For me, the performance is upstaged not only by The Hat, but by the unfortunate way Aretha separated the syllables in “country.” You know what I mean.

[The Smoking Gun: Queen of Soul Hat Suit]

Thanks, Jasmine!