Queen of Soul fractures toe on designer shoe heel

DETROIT (AP) — A misstep on the spiked heel of one of her favorite Jimmy Choo designer shoes left the Queen of Soul in a hospital boot with a fractured toe on her left foot.

Aretha Franklin performed Thursday at the home of a Dallas “oil baron” and was packing her clothing later in a hotel room when she stepped on the shoe, causing the heel to “wrap” around the toe, spokeswoman Tracey Jordan told The Associated Press Tuesday.

“She went to sleep and in the morning it was still hurting and throbbing,” Jordan said.

But Franklin had to hit the road for a performance Saturday in Greenwich, Conn.

“They were driving up Friday and it started really hurting so they made a pit stop,” Jordan said.

X-rays taken at an Indianapolis hospital revealed the fracture.

“She said `Thank God it wasn’t my pedal foot for the piano!“’ Jordan said.

The Grammy-winning songstress plays the piano during her performances, using her right foot on the instrument’s pedals.

Wearing a blue, plastic hospital boot — with a wooden sole, Franklin performed Saturday in Greenwich and is scheduled to appear Tuesday night at the Wolf Trap near Vienna, Va.

“She wears a designer shoe on the other foot,” Jordan said. “She’s standin g and dancing. She’s wearing gowns and you can’t really see her feet until she sits at the piano.”

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