Food Fight: Aretha Franklin Is Launching a Line of Comfort Cuisine to Rival Patti LaBelle's Pies 'Miss Patti gon' have to move that pie to the side,' said Franklin, who added she has never tried LaBelle's famous sweet potato pie.
By Geoff Weiss
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Two of the nation's most revered soul singers are taking their long-rumored rivalry to the kitchen.
Months after Patti LaBelle's sweet potato pies became a viral sensation, Aretha Franklin is cooking up her own line of comfort food.
Though she pointedly says she has not yet tried LaBelle's now-famous desserts, which sold out so fast retailer Walmart had to scramble to secure 2 million pounds of sweet potatoes, Franklin told Channel 4 News in Detroit that "Miss Patti gon' have to move that pie to the side."
Franklin added that she has partnered with a Phoenix-based food group to bring her products to market, which will reportedly include chili, gumbo and "my baked chicken and dressing, which will be in a loaf pan, kinda like you've seen Sara Lee cakes." Sounds … intriguing.
LaBelle, too, says she is branching out with additional food releases at Walmart, which could eventually include lobster and shrimp mac-n-cheese. And earlier this month, LaBelle unveiled her first follow-up products: a vanilla pound cake and a caramel cake that have been branded -- what else? -- Patti Cakes.
If a food fight should ever come to pass, however, LaBelle may have a formidable advantage up her sleeve in the form of James Wright Chanel. The YouTube personality catapulted the sweet potato pies into the zeitgeist with a review that featured the entertainer gobbling down a wedge with his bare hands and promptly erupting into song.
Related: You Don't Have to Be Patti LaBelle to Score a Viral Product Review Video
