Music fans and celebrities are mourning Roberta Flack, the Grammy-winning icon behind “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” after her death at age 88 on Feb. 24. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kelly Rowland, Tyler, the Creator, and Jennifer Hudson were among the stars to share tributes for the singer online.
Hudson shared a throwback photo of the legendary singer, captioning the post, “So sad to hear of Roberta Flack’s passing. One of the great soul singers of all time. Rest well, Ms. Flack. Your legacy lives on!!!”
In a separate post, Rowland said her “heart just sank” after learning of Flack’s death. “Our Dear Ms.Roberta Flack has ascended beyond but what beauty she has left us with!! THANK YOU for your effortless, most beautiful gift!” the former Destiny’s Child star wrote. “THANK YOU for being apart of the soundtrack to the most tender moments in my life! So Grateful for you!”
Parker honored her similarly, writing that “listening to her was blissful.” She added, “Heart and soul. We millions and millions loved you. RIP and Godspeed.”
Tyler, the Creator shared a screengrab of himself listening to “Early Ev’ry Midnight” with the caption, “Safe travels.” Martin Luther King’s daughter Bernice shared a video of her performing with the simple caption: “Incomparable.”
John Lennon’s sons Julian and Sean Ono also honored the singer who “was a neighbor of my Dad’s… and a dear friend of our family,” said Julian. “She was an incredibly kind woman. Uniquely talented,” Sean wrote. “I am eternally grateful to have known her. I’m heartbroken she had to leave this earth. Will always love you.”
Rev. Al Sharpton shared a few photos alongside the late singer, calling her “one of the greatest musicians” of all time, thanking her for helping shape “the very fabric of American culture, bringing depth, soul, and meaning to generations. But beyond her artistry, she was a freedom fighter and activist.”
Flack died Monday of cardiac arrest. “She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records. She was also a proud educator,” read a statement from her publicist. In 2022, Flack was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and lost her ability to sing. The disease, her rep said at the time, “has made it impossible to sing and not easy to speak.”
“If Roberta Flack was unlike singers who came before her, there were many who would emulate her in her wake. In fact, her influence has never stopped reverberating,” wrote journalist Mikal Gilmore in a tribute accompanying the announcement of her death. “She was a woman who sang in a measured voice, but her measurements moved times and events as much as they moved hearts.”
