ReAnna Simone Kelly said her family is now living paycheck to paycheck

The granddaughter of iconic jazz singer Nina Simone is breaking her silence and is directing her anger towards Vice President Kamala Harris.

On Friday, RéAnna Simone Kelly, the daughter of Simone’s daughter Lisa Simone Kelly, praised and defended singer Chlöe Bailey’s sexy rendition of her grandmother’s iconic song, “Feeling Good” on ABC’s Soul of the Nation which created controversy.

In a series of tweets, Kelly praised Bailey’s performance and reminded critics that her grandmother was “a free-spirited woman herself.”

thank you so much. your grandmother!! what a legacy!!! i will forever x always love Ms. Simone. she has always inspired me 🖤🤎 https://t.co/kfANrRy1ZX

— Chlöe (@ChloeBailey) June 19, 2021

Soon after, a Twitter user called @confessedliar responded to the performance and said, “Nina Simone passed away April 21, 2003 & twitter launched July 15, 2006, why would her estate even make an account for her?”

Kelly responded in a thread of tweets and aimed her anger at Harris, who served as the California Attorney General from 2011 until 2017. She accused Harris of taking the rights to her grandmother’s estate away from her family.

“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,” Kelly said. “We get NO royalties, nothing. Wanna hold someone accountable? Ask Kamala Harris why she came for my family #NinaSimone.”

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

Newsweek reported that Lisa Simone Kelly was made administrator of the singer’s estate and trust. She later lost control after she was accused of “breaching her fiduciary duty” to both the estate and trusts. Harris sought to surcharge the singer’s daughter for nearly $6 million-plus over $2.5 million in interest and eventually reached a settlement that stripped her of her administrator role. She agreed to have the rights to her mother’s work relinquished.

Kelly said that she deleted tweets due to needing to speak with her family before discussing the details and proceeded by saying she feels “more comfortable” speaking her truth “openly and freely.”

She then accused Harris of bullying her mother in court, having a gag order placed on her, and leaving the estate “in shambles.”

“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,” she said.

“Ask her why my mother had a gag order put on her and can not speak on these things. Ask her why she didn’t even want my mom to be able to say she was Nina Simone’s daughter. Ask her why she wanted us to walk away with NOTHING.”

Nina Simone, Lisa Simone, and RéAnna Simone Kelly via Twitter

Simone, one of the most beloved singers of her generation, known for her songs “Four Women” and “Feeling Good,” died on April 21, 2003 at her home in Carry-le-Rouet, France at the age of 70.

Kelly, expressed her pride in her legendary grandmother’s legacy but said feels separated from it as the current owners of the estate are profiting while her family is living “paycheck to paycheck.”

She concluded the thread by expressing that John Legend’s cover of “Feeling Good” in celebration of President Joe Biden and Harris inauguration felt personal, saying, “She knew what she was doing.”

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