MUMBAI: Singer Aretha Franklin has reassured fans that she is alive and well following rumours of her death.

After the hashtag #RipArethaFranklin began trending on Twitter on Tuesday morning, the singer, 75, told usmagazine.com: "I'm doing well generally, all tests have come back good."

"I've lost a lot of weight due to side effects of medicine, it affects your weight … Thanks for your concern," she added in an emailed statement.

The false report, which was initially started by a fake Aretha Franklin Twitter account, gained more than 15,000 mentions.

The post read: "It is with sad news that we announce the passing of the ‘Queen Of Soul' Aretha Franklin 1942-2017."

Fans immediately reacted, assuming the tweet was true.

(Source: IANS)