Last April, Lifetime debuted The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel to rave reviews. Directed by Christine Swanson, the film chronicled the renowned gospel group the Clark Sisters, their relationship with their mother, Mattie Moss Clark (Aunjanue Ellis), and their rise to fame.

One of the group’s major plot points was Denise Clark-Bradford, exiting the group and severing ties with her family in the process. It was clear from the film that the Clark family disapproved of Clark-Bradford having children out of wedlock amid their religious beliefs and ties to the church. However, there were a lot of questions about the music minister’s portrayal in the film.

Though Clark-Bradford has praised actress Raven Goodwind as “beautiful” and “talented” for her depiction in the film, she did take issue with some of the things put in and left out of the First Ladies of Gospel. Moreover, she was deeply offended that she was not consulted.

“I would’ve loved to have met you and actually get a chance to talk and bond,” she wrote to Goodwin on Instagram in April 2019, “Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed that chance. I would have loved to share a few things with you, such as how at times I made up choreography for the group like the 1983 Grammy performance & a few others.”

Clark-Bradford also took issue with the fact that the film ignored her deep bond with her late father, Pastor Elbert Clark, and for the dramatic ending when she was dragged out of her late mother’s funeral. In real life, the married mother of 7 was actually asked to speak.

Still, though wounds between Clark-Bradford and her sisters have not healed, her niece, gospel singer Kierra Sheard, who portrayed her own mother Karen Clark-Sheard in the movie, is hopeful for the future. “We’ve tried reaching out to my aunt,” said Sheard told Shadow and Act. “Its not been the smoothest event or experience.” She added,

But she’s super vibrant. When I talked her to her the first time, it was super fun. [My moyher] has often said that I remind her a lot of my aunt…because I’m talkative, I like to be informed, I like to read and she says I’m well-spoken…but [the] relationship [with Denise] is distant, I’ll say that, but we connected with her children.

Denise Clark-Bradford

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