Nina Simone’s daughter and grandchildren claim her estate has been “taken away” from them, and the person to blame is Vice President Kamala Harris.
The iconic singer’s family is no longer remaining silent about the situation. It started when 22-year-old RéAnna Simone Kelly, the daughter of Simone’s daughter Lisa Simone Kelly, praised Chlöe Bailey’s sexy rendition of the singer’s iconic song “Feeling Good.”
“Everyone’s coming at @ChloeBailey for her performance… But what y’all don’t understand is that grandma was a free-spirited woman herself,” RéAnna tweeted. “She would’ve loved that performance as much as I do! Relax. Chloe killed it.”
“Grandma was unapologetically herself,” she followed up. “She was a muhhhfuckin badass woman who did what she wanted when she wanted. She was a sexual woman, and she expressed that. Educate yourselves! If grandma could, she probably would’ve done that performance herself.”
As she scrolled through the comments about Simone and her legacy, RéAnna came across a tweet. It questioned why her estate would make a Twitter account for the singer years after her death in 2003—and she finally spilled the tea.
Nina’s granddaughter here. My family doesn’t run her estate anymore. It was taken away from us & given to white people. Our family name was DRAGGED in the media. We get NO royalties, nothing. Wanna hold someone accountable?Ask Kamala Harris why she came for my family #NinaSimone https://t.co/mMXOz7iLxn
— RéAnna Simone Kelly (@reasiimone) June 19, 2021
As I said before, Ask her why she separated my family. Ask her why my grandmothers estate is in SHAMBLES now. Ask her why we as her family no longer own the rights to anything. Ask her why she bullied my mother in court and my mom almost killed herself from the depression.
— RéAnna Simone Kelly (@reasiimone) June 19, 2021
Her tweetstorm was over her family losing a legal battle headed by then-AG Harris with the singer’s daughter, Lisa Simone Kelly, who was the administrator of her late mother’s estate and charitable trust.
According to the Daily Beast, she was accused of “breaching her fiduciary duty” when she allegedly drained up to $2 million from its coffers, including a $1.5 million deposit into her personal company.
Harris sought to surcharge her nearly $6 million, plus more than $2.5 million in interest before they agreed for Simone Kelly to relinquish rights to her mother’s work as well as the title of the estate administrator.
RéAnna also said her mom, Lisa Simone, was put under a “gag order.”
She said Harris twisted the knife even further when John Legend performed Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” on the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Harris.
My grandmother created something beautiful with her life while she was here on this earth, even through all her pain. I am SO PROUD of her legacy!! I am so proud to be her grandchild. But I feel separated from my legacy. As if it isn’t even mine. Let me explain
— RéAnna Simone Kelly (@reasiimone) June 19, 2021
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Kelly took to Instagram to stand by RéAnna, proudly saying she had “started a fire.”
“I support everything she said,” she said. “She’s speaking her truth; she’s speaking the truth of our family.”
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