Today, August 9, Whitney Houston would have blown out 61 candles. A life that was not easy, even dramatic. Just like her death, tragic and premature. She was only 48 years old. It was February 11, 2012 when her assistant found her lifeless body underwater in the bathtub. Whitney had taken a suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel (California) in view of her participation in the Grammy Awards. The help of the police and paramedics was useless. After 10 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, she was pronounced dead. The cause was probably a heart attack caused by the abuse of drugs, medication and alcohol (although it was later said that she drowned accidentally, however due to excessive drug use combined with atherosclerosis). Whitney left too soon, oppressed by a system that did not allow her to live a peaceful life. And from her family, who should have protected her, but instead wanted to force her into stereotypes and make her believe: “This is how it’s done,” “This is not how it’s done,” “This is what you should hide.” Whitney was a free spirit whose wings were clipped as a small child.
Abuse at age 9: Lesbian story is aborted due to family pressure
When she was nine and her half-brother Gary Garland was seven, they were both allegedly sexually abused by their cousin. Gary himself claimed this in the documentary “Whitney” and the fact was partially confirmed when Whitney’s assistant said he had gained the trust of the star, who claimed to have been “sexually abused at a young age.”
As a teenager, he had a romantic relationship with Robyn Crawford. Although he had denied it several times, many knew that there was actually a great love story between the two, which Whitney had to interrupt for fear of repercussions on her career and pressure from her family. Robyn, in fact, simply remained her artistic assistant. Crawford herself will only tell it in 2019 in the book “A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston”. “She told me that we should no longer have physical contact because it would make our path even more difficult. She thought that if people found out about our story, they would use it against us – the words of Whitney’s assistant and “special friend” -. For her mother, it was not natural that two women were so close, but we were.” It will be the mother herself (the singer Cissy Houston) who confirms that she would not have liked a homosexual relationship with her daughter: “It would have bothered me, I would not have accepted it,” the woman’s words to Oprah Winfrey.
“Whitney Houston was bisexual”: The truth in a documentary
In 2002, Whitney said in an interview with ABC that she was “her own demon. Nobody forces me to do anything I don’t want to do.” But perhaps this was her desire more than anything else. Probably to silence these rumors, perhaps due to the numerous and exhausting pressures, Whitney married her colleague Bobby Brown in 1992. After the wedding, Robyn worked with Whitney for another 8 years. Then, as former bodyguard David Roberts recounted in the (recommended) documentary “Whitney: Can I Be Me,” she and Bobby clashed several times because of their love for the singer. This, jealousy and one episode in particular led to the end of the relationship between Whitney and Robyn. After the latter found some burnt spoons in her house, she asked Whitney to get help to overcome her (already under control) drug addiction. She said no. At that point, Robyn, who was also fed up with Whitney’s constant short-term cancellations of interviews and events, decided to quit. Today, Robyn, who lives with her new partner and two children, still remembers her fondly: “I experienced many wonderful and exciting adventures and have beautiful and loving memories. She was a wonderful friend.”
Daughter Bobbi, dead like her mother
Marrying Bobby didn’t breathe new life into Whitney (as only the power of love can), but instead set her on an even deeper decline. From their love (which was apparently very little real) came Bobbi Kristina Brown. Born in 1993, she died in 2015 at the age of just 22. As if her young age wasn’t enough to make things even more tragic and disturbing, it was the girl’s cause of death. Like her mother, she was found in a bathtub in the Georgia home she shared with her ex, Nick Gordon. The 22-year-old – who had six other half-siblings on her father’s side – died after a long hospital stay. Traces of drugs, alcohol, marijuana, morphine and a “cocaine-like” substance were found in her system.
Bobbi Kristina Brown, Whitney Houston’s daughter, has died
A sad parable – that of Bobbi Kristina – which is very reminiscent of Whitney’s last years, the causes of which lie in the first choices, in the constraints, in the space (in the broadest sense) in which Whitney lived. And in which her memory and the numerous masterpieces she left us, which collect millions (but also billions) of streams on the platforms, still live today. Her eternal music will continue to warm the hearts of fans, those who still listen to her today, those who want to celebrate, but also those who feel lonely, as she felt so often. So happy birthday, Whitney. Happy birthday to the best voice of all time. Happy birthday wherever you are.
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