Diane Haughton, the mother of the late Aaliyah, called out an author for promoting an unauthorized book about the singer’s life at her gravesite.
On Tuesday (Aug. 23), Haughton took to her daughter’s social media accounts to share a letter to her fans about the incident. “First and foremost, I want to thank my dear ‘Special Ones’ (The Fans) that have been with us for years and supported every endeavor that came our way without hesitation,” she wrote. “However, 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.”
Haughton continued, “This person interrupted all my thoughts and ideas to make August 25th, 2021 a day of Remembrance and Love for my daughter. Please accept my sincere apologies for this and know I love you and always will. Aaliyah’s life will still shine no matter what.”
Fans on social media believe the unnamed author in question is Kathy Iandoli, who recently released the book “Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah.” The book reportedly includes untold stories about the One In A Million singer, her alleged relationships and the development of her career. Iandoli also wrote about rumors that Aaliyah may have been drugged moments before boarding the deadly flight that later crashed in the Bahamas.
According to Iandoli, Aaliyah’s family declined to work with her on the book. “I did reach out to the family for permission,” she said in an interview with Vanity Fair. “It’s a strange legal situation involving the estate of Aaliyah, and I learned the complexities of this after Prodigy passed away, because you have the human and then you have the personality, the artist, the image.”
Check out Haughton’s full statement below.