I was very sad to hear about Whitney Houston’s death. It was touching to see the outpouring of grief from the public, media and other performers. Or was it?
The majority of her hits and film success were ’85 through ’95. For the last twenty years we (the general population, media included) have pruriently waited to see the Whitney train come off the rails, and it did – several times. A disastrous marriage, a drug bust, public misbehavior, and misfired comebacks were all gossip page features. The tabloids and the main stream outlets jumped on every opportunity to show photos of her wasted and videos of her of her attempted comebacks. We laughed at her incoherent interviews and quotes about drugs. Comedians specialized in portraying her at her worst. I don’t remember other “A” list performers being particularly vocal defending her or working to give her another chance. Continue reading