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The author of a newly releasedAaliyahbiography is shooting down claims from the star’s mother that she promoted her book at the cemetery where the late singer is buried.
“I did not promote my book outside of Aaliyah’s gravesite. That is offensive to even suggest. I have been told that fans have had my book there with them,” Iandoli wrote. “Please no longer bring my book to Ferncliff. Apologies that fans can not visit Aaliyah’s resting place.”
She later shared the statement to Instagram with the added caption: “This is absurd. Seriously.”
Iandoli’s claims came the same day Aaliyah’s mother, Diane Haughton, shared a statement to the singer’s social media accounts accusing an unidentified “individual” of drumming up publicity at Ferncliff, where Aaliyah was buried after she died in a plane crash in August 2001 at age 22.
“Due to the behavior of an individual that has been to Aaliyah’s resting place in order to promote a book, I have been forced to make a drastic change at Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum,” Houghton wrote.
“This person interrupted all my thoughts and ideas to make August 25th, 2021 a day of remembrance and love for my daughter,” she continued. “Please accept my sincere apologies for this and know I love you and always will. Aaliyah’s life will shine no matter what.”
It remains unclear what change to the cemetery Haughton is referring to.
In an interview earlier this month, Iandoli toldVanity Fairthat she did reach out to “Back and Forth” singer’s family to ask for permission to write the book, but that Aaliyah’s estate was involved in a “strange legal situation.”
“I have my suspicions about why they can’t speak on certain things or what their concerns are about certain things, and I do delve into that in the book, and a lot of it involves some legal issues,” she said. “So I did the due diligence of asking because that was the first line, like I wanted that for myself as a person who respected her family, but it didn’t work out.”
Meanwhile, Aaliyah’s 1996 albumOne in a Millionrecently became available to stream on Spotifyfollowing a decades-long battle over her discography between her estate and her former manager and uncle, Barry Hankerson.
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Hankerson’s Blackground Records 2.0 announced a partnership earlier this month with Empire to release songs from Aaliyah’s catalog, and her estate hit back with a scathing statement slamming “shadowy tactics of deception with unauthorized projects targeted to tarnish.”
“For almost 20 years, Blackground has failed to account to the Estate with any regularity in accordance with her recording contracts. In addition, the Estate was not made aware of the impending release of the catalog until after the deal was complete and plans were in place,” the statement continued. “The Estate has demanded that Blackground provide a full account of its past earnings, and full disclosure of the terms of its new deal to distribute Aaliyah’s long embargoed music.”
source: people.com
