Etta James: 'Beyonce, Barack Obama Criticism Was Just A Joke'

Soul singer Etta James has insisted that comments she made about Beyonce Knowles and Barack Obama at a recent concert in Seattle were part of a joke.

The singer told the crowd at the Paramount Theatre that “she can’t stand Beyonce” after the singer performed a cover of her 1961 song, ‘At Last’, at President Obama’s inauguration.

She also mocked Obama’s “big ears”, and distanced herself from his presidency.

"I didn't really mean anything," James told the New York Daily News. "Even as a little child, I've always had that comedian kind of attitude. ... That's probably what went into it."

James added that her comments  had not come “from a vicious place”, and that she had been spurred on by the audience.

"Nobody was getting mad at me in Seattle. They were all laughing, and it was funny,” she said.

But the singer, who is portrayed by Beyonce in a forthcoming movie, did express her disappointment at not being asked to perform her own song for the president.

She said she was "feeling left out of something that was basically mine, that I had done every time you look around."

When asked if she could have performed the song better than Beyonce, she replied: “I think so. That's a shame to say that."

As previously reported on Gigwise, Beyonce fought back tears during an interview shortly after her performance, which marked the President and First Lady Michelle's first dance as America's first family.

“I'm just so proud of my country. There are just certain people in the world that God touches, and [Obama] was born for this,” she said.

CLICK HERE to see the star-studded inauguration ball in full or see below for Beyonce's performance.

President Barack Obama's first dance: