'You foolish fascist!': Michael Eric Dyson calls out Trump at Aretha Franklin's funeral

Sociology professor Michael Eric Dyson speaks at Aretha Franklin's funeral at Greater Grace Temple on August 31, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images) less Sociology professor Michael Eric Dyson speaks at Aretha Franklin's funeral at Greater Grace Temple on August 31, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANGELA ... more Photo: ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images Photo: ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close 'You foolish fascist!': Michael Eric Dyson calls out Trump at Aretha Franklin's funeral 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

Georgetown University sociology professor Michael Eric Dyson called out President Donald Trump at soul singer Aretha Franklin's funeral in an alliterative assault in response to the president saying that Franklin "worked for him."

While speaking about Franklin, who died of pancreatic cancer on Aug. 16 at age 76 and was buried on Friday, Dyson called Trump a "foolish fascist" at the end of a tirade directed at the president.

"You lugubrious leech, you dopey doppelgänger of deceit and deviance, you lethal liar, you dimwitted dictator, you foolish fascist," he said. "She ain't work for you."

A packed house at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit erupted in applause and cheers.

Dyson's diss was referring to comments Trump made in a Cabinet meeting the day that Franklin died. "She worked for me on numerous occasions," he said, in addition to comments he made about Franklin being "terrific" and "having an extraordinary legacy."

Dyson, who is from Detroit, wasn't the only person to make a reference to Trump's comments at the funeral. Singer Steve Wonder said that "we need to make love again," during his comments about Franklin at the funeral, a reference to Trump's campaign slogan.

And political activist and television host Al Sharpton misspelled the word "respect" on his MSNBC show "Politics Nation," and said a lot of people corrected him.

"Now I want y'all to help me correct President Trump to teach him what it means," Sharpton said.

Among the thousands in attendance at Franklin's funeral were former President Bill Clinton, former U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight and Ariana Grande. Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, who are both scheduled to delivery eulogies at Sen. John McCain's memorial service on Saturday, sent letters that were read on stage at the funeral.