Fox News Used A Photo Of Patti LaBelle In Their Tribute To Aretha Franklin

Fox News has been forced to apologise for using a photo of singer Patti LaBelle during a tribute to the late Aretha Franklin.

Viewers spotted the incorrect imaging in a package that went to air just hours after the news that Franklin, who was 76, had passed away.

Jessica Santostefano, Fox News Vice President, Media Desk, issued a statement to PEOPLE shortly afterwards.

"We sincerely apologise to Aretha Franklin's family and friends," she said.

"Our intention was to honour the icon using a secondary image of her performing with Patti LaBelle in the full screen graphic, but the image of Ms Franklin was obscured in that process, which we deeply regret."

The photo of LaBelle used was taken from a performance at the White House in 2014; while Franklin was also in attendance that night, she was not present in the original photo.

It's also unclear whether Franklin and LaBelle performed together that night.

Franklin, known as the Queen of Soul, passed away on Thursday after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Eskimo Joe's Kav Temperley paid tribute to the singer on Triple M's The Hot Breakfast this morning, watch here