Apparantly TMZ, CNN & others are reporting that she has died, and this from her publicist

RIP

http://www.tmz.com/

I'm surprised the Daily Mail would make that public, even if it's been known but unspoken for years. Peter Tatchell is also not someone who would write a shock value column. I'm actually surprised he wrote in that paper of all things.

It reminds me of when Luther Vandross died and Bruce Villanch wrote that he was "in the life" and they'd had a conversation about what revealing that would mean for his career. This is of course an issue worth discussing, but I don't know how I feel about people jumping to reveal! mere days after a person has passed.

Alvin, what you are saying makes perfect sense. Why else would Whitney do so many drugs if it wasn't to hid emotional pain? she had everything else in the world. The deep homophobia within the black church is really INTENSE, don't underestimate it.

Which is crazy ironic seeing as how the most gays in church on Sunday morning are probably black. If she was struggling with her feelings for Robyn/sexuality in general, that may have been a part of it, but that wouldn't explain Bobby's issues. I think they honestly liked to party and it soon got WAY out of hand and extrememly dangerous/destructive/disgusting.

I don't want to go OT, let's keep this on Whitney, but on the subject of homosexuality, drug abouse, and the black church, you may be interested in the Billy Preston episode of Unsung. Molestation was also involved, so that's a whole 'nother issue, but...

I imagine Clive Davis had a lot to do with it as well, since he likes to keep people on a very tight leash. I know there were also rumors about Taylor Dayne, and he later used her as some cautionary tale (although that was for her music, not any sexuality).

Yes, Clive is like that, Carl. That's the main reason that Martha only recorded one album for Arista... her exact words about Clive were "That man ain't gonna tell me how to sing!" And Taylor Dane is very open now, and has been for quite some time. Thanks, SFK... i'll watch that Billy Preston unsung... that's a great series. I acutally think at some point Robyn is gonna spill the beans, and lay the whole thing out in the open... I would almost lay money on Seeing Robyn do an exclusive with Barbara Walters.

Edited February 21, 201213 yr by alphanguy74

I acutally think at some point Robyn is gonna spill the beans, and lay the whole thing out in the open... I would almost lay money on Seeing Robyn do an exclusive with Barbara Walters.

Per Robyn last week in Esquire:

http://www.esquire.c...houston-6654718

One time, back when we were young, we were out, we were partying, and I said, "Listen, I have to go. I'm tired. I can't make it." And she looked at me with her eyes wide and said, "I've got to make it."

And that was Whitney. She could not pick up the phone, and that meant it was too painful. I have never spoken about her until now. And she knew I wouldn't. She was a loyal friend, and she knew I was never going to be disloyal to her. I was never going to betray her. Now I can't believe that I'm never going to hug her or hear her laughter again. I loved her laughter, and that's what I miss most, that's what I miss already.

Edited February 21, 201213 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

I think Whitney's issues were mostly related to success, being an instant success at 21 and then going on to be an industry icon puts brings a lot of pressure to meet expectations. If you think about it, it would be scary to shoot to the level of success Whitney was had at the very height of her career, that is a lot to take on and an escape of some sort would be necessary for some.

Is TMZ everywhere? I guess people send them footage as well. Extra picking up on a TMZ story (footage of Whitney watching the SuperBowl/SB half-time show with friends)...

http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2012/02/video_whitney_houston_watching_madonnas_superbowl_halftime_show.php?adid=trendingstories

That looks like some looky-loo recorded that on their phone and couldn't wait to sell it once she passed. I won't be surprised if security footage of her last trips to the drug and grocery stores starts popping up.

I read that Whitney was named after Whitney Blake from Hazel, Meredith Baxter Birney's mother, but I just read that she was named after a character on a sixties soap opera. Only Whitney I can think of is Raven Whitney and she came much later. Carl, anyone, any ideas? Geraldine Whitney Saxon?

Edited February 21, 201213 yr by SFK

Whitney was born before EON's Geraldine was created. I'm not sure who it could be.

I read years ago that she was named after Blake, so I think that is who is really was named after. Someone may have confused "Hazel" as a soap opera, since it is one of those sitcoms that many haven't heard of before.

Edited February 22, 201213 yr by ReddFoxx

Someone took a photo of Whitney inside the coffin. ET is reporting it now.

Yeah, they showed the pic on The Talk today. I hope the person who sold it to The Enquirer gets revealed.

Somewhere, Will Smith is breathing a sigh of relief.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/23/us-usa-campaign-debate-idUSTRE81L0AD20120223

The following is an excerpt of the Whitney Houston cover story in the March 15th, 2012 issue of Rolling Stone, on stands March 2nd.

Diligent professional one moment, wild child the next: Those were the opposing sides of Houston in her last days – and, it turns out, much of her life. Blessed with a peerless combination of bravura lung power, model-perfect looks, and an image that was both warm and regal, Houston was that pop rarity: a genuine crossover star, juggling music and film, ­audiences young and old, black and white. "Because of her cousin Dionne [Warwick], she understood all those pretty-ass melodies from Burt Bacharach," says Narada Michael Walden, one of Houston's many producers. "But because she was young and from the era of Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna, she had soul in her too – those rhythms. She had both sides. Plus, she was so damn gorgeous. You couldn't say no to her."

But after she peaked with her 1991 version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and 1992's The Bodyguard, her fans watched as, year by year, Houston's demons were revealed to the world: Her voice grew huskier, her looks hardened. Her records, when they appeared, didn't sell as well as they once had; her live performances revealed a performer physically and vocally rusty.

People who worked with her still find it hard to comprehend her dark side. "A lot of us talked about that, and no one could come up with an answer," says Gerry Griffith, the A&R man who brought Houston to Clive Davis' attention around 1982. "Where is that rebellion coming from? It didn't come out for a while." When it did, it came out in force, nearly destroying her personal life, career and music.

From the start, Whitney Houston was a child of both the church and the charts. Her mother, Cissy, was a Newark, New Jersey-born soprano powerhouse who sang backup on classic records by Franklin ("Ain't No Way," "Chain of Fools") and Van Morrison ("Brown Eyed Girl"), and toured with Elvis Presley (when she was a member of the Sweet Inspirations). Her cousin Warwick had crossed over to pop in the Sixties and Seventies with hits like "Walk On By" and "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" Whitney, born in 1963, inherited her voice from her mother, and her elegant good looks and strong will from her father, John Houston, who worked variously as a truck driver and for the city of Newark, and who would later manage his daughter's career.

When Whitney was four, her parents moved her and her two brothers to suburban East Orange, New Jersey, where many black families relocated after the Newark riots. Houston was a shy kid; her grade-school principal recalls Houston standing in line, tightly holding her classmates' hands, her head down. When Houston's godmother, singer Darlene Love, would stay at the family's home while on tour, she shared a bed with "Nippy," as Whitney was called. "I was pregnant at the time and she'd go, 'What do you want, what do you want?' " Love recalls. "There was a store on the corner where she'd run down the street and buy fruit for me. So charming from Day One."

To read the rest of this cover story, pick up the March 15th, 2012 issue of Rolling Stone, available on stands and in Rolling Stone All Access March 2nd.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/cover-story-excerpt-whitney-houston-20120229