Quote Originally Posted by sup_fan View Post
did Diana stop singing lead because Mary usurped the lead? that's part of what we don't know. I don't know either. given how mary was a professional, i would hope to give her the benefit of the doubt that she wouldn't ever do such a thing. but i have my doubts. my feelings are that mary either arrived at M25 with an ax to grind or quickly picked up one. Randy alludes a little to this in the fact that everyone seemed to be ganging up on Diana "to GET her" so to speak. like you said, maybe the combination of her being more successful but sometimes being nasty, of her getting all of B's attention, etc. These performers also had some hefty grudges against Berry. and if they "got" Diana, they would also be "getting" Berry.

again, this is my speculation

but clearly this was a nightmare of situation. There had been plenty of press touting the Sups Reunion - although maybe some of this was planted in the press to force Diana into a corner and get her to do the show. but to have this much hype about the reunion and have it in such disarray is stunning.
Of the recollections about the event, no one that I can recall has ever accused Mary of taking the lead from Diana, so I suspect that Mary's recall of Diana stopping singing and then Mary picking it up is fairly accurate. Like I said before, I think if Suzanne hadn't panicked and sent Smokey out, Diana probably would have found her place in the song and the reunion could have continued as a highlight.

It really sucks that Diana didn't have the best team around her either. Had I been a part of Diana's PR team, at some point I would have suggested that she do something with Mary and Cindy to take the spotlight off of what happened at Motown 25. A surprise Supremes reunion for a medley at Central Park, especially on Day 2, would have set off pandemonium. Lol