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Screenshot 2018-05-17 13.26.44.jpg

The Latest Whitney Houston Documentary "Whitney" Surprises At Cannes With Its Candor

By Mieka Strawhorn | Film | May 17, 2018 |

By Mieka Strawhorn | Film | May 17, 2018 |


Screenshot 2018-05-17 13.26.44.jpg

Whitney, the latest Whitney Houston documentary, premiered at Cannes this week. Whitney was billed as the “first to be sanctioned” by Whitney’s estate. Showtime’s documentary Can I Be Me was not approved by her family, and delved into Whitney’s sexuality and relationship with Robyn Crawford; a relationship that Whitney’s mother Cissy Houston disapproved of quite vocally. So while the “first look” trailer that came out last month made it seem like Whitney might be nothing more than a watered down version of her life, the news from Cannes is that it’s anything but.

According to Page Six, Whitney’s assistant reveals on camera that Whitney confided to her that she had been molested at a young age by her cousin, Dee Dee Warwick. And Whitney’s brother says he was abused too. Dee Dee Warwick died in 2008.

Houston’s longtime assistant Mary Jones tells filmmaker Kevin Macdonald that the late singer told her that Warwick, the sister of Dionne Warwick, molested her at a young age. Houston’s brother Gary Garland-Houston also says he was molested between the ages of 7 and 9 by a female family member, and says his sister was abused too.

In addition to this revelation, Whitney does in fact, touch on Whitney’s relationship with Robyn, and her decades-long history of drug abuse that led to her 2012 death by drowning (heart disease and drug use were listed as contributing factors by the coroner). Page Six adds:

“We always wanted our film to be a corrective to that tabloid story,” said producer Simon Chinn. “These are specific revelations that I think will get people to a deeper understanding of who Whitney was and in many ways redeem her as a person.

Pfft, as if Whitney needs redemption as a person. We didn’t deserve her and she blessed us anyway. Here’s the most recent trailer for Whitney.

God, I miss Nippy. Baby Face does not lie, I never felt patriotic until I heard Whitney sing the anthem. And I’m sure Paula Abdul would probably agree that it’s an absolute honor to have Whitney speak her name. I was already going to see Whitney, even when I thought it would be sanitized, because any second spent listening to Whitney Houston is a second well spent. But now that I know Whitney may actually shed additional light on her struggles, I’m even more inclined.