Bill Clinton made a joke during his speech at Aretha Franklin's funeral

September 05, 2018 | by Cheryl Kahla

Former President Bill Clinton gave a speech at Aretha Franklin's funeral at the Greater Grace Temple Detroit on Friday.

He said Franklin was four years older than him, and he's been a "Franklin groupie" since his college days. Read more on our Twitter account, @amomama_usa.

Clinton, 72, said Franklin drew out thousands on the day of her funeral "because she lived with courage." He added:

"Not without fear, but overcoming her fears. [...] She lived with power — not without weakness but overcoming her weaknesses. I just loved her."

Bill Clinton Jokes About Aretha Franklin's Multiple Casket Wardrobe Changes During Funeral Speech https://t.co/tOK5oOMhos
— People (@people) August 31, 2018

The former President also joked about the wardrobe changes during her viewing and said he was glad that the casket was still open when he arrived.

"Because I said, 'I wonder what my friend’s got on today. I wanna see what the girl is carrying out.'"

Clinton said that virtues "aren't in fashion" anymore and that Franklin was a wonderful example of "strenuous work ethic and dedication to the less fortunate."

Like people all around the world, Hillary and I 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.
— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) August 14, 2018

She cared for broken people, he added. Clinton finished his speech by playing "Think" from his cellphones and telling the crowd that it was the "best [he] could do."

Franklin passed away on August 16 at the age of 76, surrounded by her loved ones. She was under hospice care at the time and lost the battle with neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer.

Two days before her death, Clinton took to social media to pay tribute to his dear friend and said on Twitter that he and Hillary were listening to her music.

In his tweet, which received more than 90,000 likes and 13,000 shares, he explained that it had "been such an important part of our lives for the last 50 years," and added:

"We hope you’ll lift her up by listening and sharing her songs that have meant the most to you."