President Obama misspells "respect" during Aretha Franklin tribute

WASHINGTON, March 7 (UPI) -- Former President George W. Bush was well-known for his verbal gaffes in office, but President Obama seems to have taken a cue from his predecessor when he misspelled "respect" during a tribute to Aretha Franklin.

The President and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted "In Performance at the White House: Women of Soul" on Thursday, an event that honored Aretha Franklin, Melissa Etheridge and Patti LaBelle, among others.

Obama lauded Franklin's 1967 hit song "Respect" as a "rallying cry for African-Americans, women, and...everyone who felt marginalized," but misspelled the song as "R-S-P-E-C-T" in his reference.

The incident occurs after 3:25 in the video.

The President realized his mistake as the audience burst into laughter, but continued with the tribute as planned.