I get it, but I kind of disagree. If there is a such thing as "should have been", Diana should have been there. The night was, after all, meant to celebrate Motown. However, Diana, with and without the Supremes, was a big part of the Motown legacy. I think to appear, for both Diana and Mary, should have been seen by both as a small celebration even of themselves- as the Supremes- and what they accomplished. And even if the night was secondary, or in conjunction, a celebration for Berry, with everything he had done for her career, regardless of the tension, for her not to appear would have been a little funky.
All Diana had to do was be on her best behavior. No one would have ever known about Mary going off script if Mary hadn't told the story in her book years later. No one would have known about Mary and Cindy's decision to sing softly at the mic check if Mary hadn't told the story in her book years later. No one would have known Mary went against the color coordination with the red dress if it hadn't been reported in some book years later. [[Cindy's dress has always looked off white to me. Diana was in black and silver. The two didn't seem to match, so when first viewing the program, I never thought they were supposed to be matching, and I find it hard to believe the folks at home thought it either.) And no one would have ever known Mary and Cindy agreed to match Diana's steps on stage if Mary hadn't told the story in her book years later. None of those things were such that the audience, and later the viewing public, would have noticed, thought about, or cared about.
Diana's physical actions were the only thing that couldn't be concealed because she did it in front of everybody. She wasn't feeling very well, recovering from an illness. It was the night before her 40th birthday, and I have to imagine there was some anxiety about that milestone. She was nervous about Berry. She was nervous about Mary [[as I suspect what someone said earlier in the thread, about Diana having heard Mary was writing a book, could be true). She was nervous about seeing old Motown folks she hadn't seen in years, who maybe didn't have a high opinion of her. And she lost it on stage.
Okay Ollie, yeah, I see your point.
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