A
new allegation has surfaced that pop superstar Whitney
Houston was murdered.
Legal
television commentator, Nancy Grace, ignited a firestorm
of criticism speculating Houston�s death might have been a homicide.
�I�d
like to know who was around her, who, if anyone gave her
drugs, following alcohol and drugs, and who let her slip,
or pushed her, underneath that water?,� Grace told CNN
On
February 11th, Houston was found dead in the bathtub of her Beverly
Hilton Hotel room on the eve of the Grammy Awards. But
now Houston�s
former sister-in-law, Bobby Brown�s sister, Leolah Brown,
is speaking up, too. �I believe Whitney�s death was not
accidental,� Brown told the tabloid television news show
�Access Hollywood.�
This
new and disturbing allegation flies counter to the
Coroner�s Office report that there was no sign of foul
play or trauma, albeit the official cause of death won�t
be determined until toxicology results are in.
While
a murder investigation may well now ramp up to ascertain
who killed Houston, so, too, should a probe querying what
killed her.
While
family, friends and fans blame Whitney�s colossal downfall
to drugs and Boston�s R&B bad boy, Bobby Brown, both functioned in helping Houston
develop an approving black identity and an unquestioning
sexuality.
What
is now an adoring and all embracing black fan base of
Houston, such was not always the case. In 1989, Houston
was booed at the Soul Train Awards for supposedly �not
being black enough.� It was at that same show that she
met Bobby Brown.
�I
have a theory about Whitney Houston,� said singer-actress
Della Reese, a longtime Houston family friend. �I�ve been called �Uncle
Tom,� and I know how that feels. I think Whitney was so
hurt by being called a �sellout� and �acting white� �
and crap like that � she wanted to change her image. What
better way to do that than to marry a bad boy? And the
drug abuse makes her a flawed person fighting to overcome
her demons. Makes her relatable.�
Long
before Houston�s former chauffeur, Al Bowman, told the
tabloid television news show �Entertainment Tonight� in
February that he witnessed Whitney and Bobby in the back
of his limo, high on crack cocaine and in a threesome
with an A-list soul singer. Rumors of Houston
being a lesbian have been
circulating for more than 30 years. And Houston�s
personal assistant, as well as best friend, Robyn Crawford,
was rumored to have been Houston�s lesbian lover. For a while they lived
together.
�I
met her when she was 16. It was at a summer job.... She
had peachy colored skin and she didn�t look like anyone
I�d ever met in East Orange, New Jersey,� Crawford, in reminiscing about Houston, told reporter, Tom Junod, in the February
2012 online issue of Esquire Magazine. And we went
around the world. I was her assistant and then her executive
assistant and then her creative director... I have never
spoken about her until now. She was a loyal friend, and
she knew I was never going to be disloyal to her. Now
I can�t believe that I�m never going to hug her or hear
her laughter again.�
Houston, exhibiting gender non-conforming
behavior was no secret to those closest around her. The
Daily Mail reported that Houston�s sister-in-law,
Tina Brown, and her ex-bodyguard, Kevin Ammons, both believed
Houston my have been a lesbian because she �had
wild sex sessions with women while out of her mind on
crack cocaine.�
But
it was her ex-spouse, bad boy Bobby Brown, who over time
had come to believe Whitney married him with an ulterior
motive. �I believe her agenda was to clean up her image,
while mine was to be loved and have children. The media
was accusing her of having a bisexual relationship with
her assistant, Robin [sic] Crawford. Since she was the
American Sweetheart and all, that didn�t go too well with
her image... In Whitney�s situation, the only solution
was to get married and have kids. That would kill all
speculation, whether it was true or not,� Brown penned
in his 2007 tell-all book �Bobby Brown: The Truth, the
Whole Truth, and Nothing But...�
The
freest she may have been expressing her sexuality without
being drugged out of her mind might have been
in 1999 at the 13th Annual New York City Lesbian and Gay
Pride Dance. That year, Houston flew in for a special surprise guest appearance,
where she performed her then two most recent hits, �It�s
Not right, But It�s Okay,� and �Heartbreak Hotel.� The
homophobic constraints of career and family expectations
no doubt contributed to the stressors in Whitney�s �down
low� life, but so, too, the church, even at her �home-going,�
(funeral) service.
With
homophobes like Pastor Donnie McClurkin, the poster boy
for African American �ex-gay� ministries, and gospel singers Angie and Debbie Winans, who released
a single in 1998 titled, �Not Natural,� in which they
self-righteously denounced lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
queer (LGBTQ) people as children of God, to name a few,
singing Whitney farewell, only a �down low� existence
was possible for her.
We
may never know all the demons that took this internationally
renowned pop star diva down a torturous and troubling
road of self-destruction, but one demon not mentioned
is homophobia.
BlackCommentator.com
Editorial Board member, the Rev. Irene Monroe, is a religion
columnist, theologian, and public speaker. She is the Coordinator of
the African-American Roundtable of the Center for Lesbian and
Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry (CLGS) at the Pacific
School of Religion. A native of Brooklyn, Rev. Monroe is a
graduate from Wellesley College and Union Theological
Seminary at Columbia University, and served as a pastor
at an African-American church before coming to Harvard
Divinity School for her doctorate as a Ford Fellow. She
was recently named to MSNBC�s list of 10 Black Women You Should Know. Reverend Monroe is the author
of Let Your Light Shine Like a Rainbow Always: Meditations on Bible Prayers for Not�So�Everyday Moments.
As an African-American feminist theologian, she speaks
for a sector of society that is frequently invisible.
Her website is
irenemonroe.com.
Click here
to contact the Rev. Monroe.
