After getting pummeled and stomped on social media for taking sole credit for the sales explosions of her once-obscure sweet potato pies, Patti LaBelle has had a change of heart.
LaBelle was torched and feathered for refusing to give any credit to YouTube entertainer James Wright, the man who innocently posted a video of himself singing like the legendary artist after tasting her pies. Immediately thereafter, the video went viral and garnered over three million views on his channel. In impromptu interviews by the likes of TMZ, LaBelle has said she was responsible for the pies’ meteoric sales.
After enduring the nationwide blowback on her arrogance and ignorance, LaBelle but now she’s finally come to terms with the fact that Wright helped get the word out, and she’s even inviting him to dinner for Thanksgiving.
“This pie has been doing really well,” she told Quincy Harris of “Good Morning Philadelphia. “My new friend, James Wright, did this fierce video and took the pie over the top, and people are losing their minds about the pie. Thank you, James.
“We’re going to be together in Philly,” she continued. “He’s spending Thanksgiving with Miss Patti. I’m going to cook for him.”
LaBelle mentioned all the delicious dishes Wright will be treated to for the holiday: four fried turkeys, brisket, macaroni and shrimp, potato salad, kale, cabbage, salad, candied yams, peach cobbler, chocolate cake, leg of lamb, and of course, her famous sweet potato pie.
“You give love to people who give you love,” she said. “And you know, I didn’t expect a viral video.”
Hopefully, Wright won’t be duped into accepting a single meal (albeit a tasty and fulfilling one) as compensation for his role in making her pies a national sensation. He needs to convey the fact that LaBelle needs to break him off some love in the form of dividends. Then again, LaBelle should take the initiative and provide him with a percentage of her sales since she now acknowledges that he’s responsible for making the pies a must-have desert.