What is going on with the way she speaks? Did anyone else notice this? It's like her dentures don't fit or she just got her tongue pierced or something.
@cocobanal: I was thinking about this. I was thinking how I've probably never heard Whitney Houston talk until this interview, and so I've just known who she was by image and song.
I think the interview was great and definitely shows Whitney has changed since the Diane Sawyer interview.
During her song, I keep waiting for her to really build up and smash it... but she didn't. I keep expecting the old Whitney voice, but I guess I just have to get used to her matured tones.
What struck me the most of the interview is the gender dynamics...she talked so much about how she loved Bobby being in control, and how she wanted to be "good woman" and how it's "not abnormal" for a man to feel intimidated by a woman's success. Oprah kept gently repeating "But you're WHITNEY HOUSTON" but in Whitney's mind that didn't seem to balance out the fact that she was the "woman" and he was the "man." She may talk a lot about how her faith helped her, and I'm sure it did, but it strikes me that conservative Christian values (marriage is holy, so you can't leave; a woman's duty is to her husband, the man should be the breadwinner, etc.) got her into trouble in the first place...
@AmbroseZinkbot: conservative christian values aren't the only type of values that regard marriage as holy. furthermore, honoring her vows didn't get her in trouble in the first place...it was who she honored the vows TO that was the problem. she wanted to work it out...regardless of the millions she had in the bank, et cetera. why bother to take the vows in the first place if you don't have any intention of honoring the commitment. she did. he didn't. at least she wanted to work it out, and that also is not just a conservative christian value.
also the whole 'man should be the breadwinner' thing isn't just a conservative christian value. there are plenty of non-religious/atheist/whatever couples who cling to traditional gender roles and heaven forfend if a wife makes more money/has more success than the husband. you'd be surprised.
I am kind of double posting, because I didn't know if the site was going to post the second part of the interview - I hope that is OK.
I think this is one of the most honest, revealing celebrity interviews I have ever seen. She did not dodge the questions, and reading some of the previous comments, I wonder - what the hell do people want from her?
She is a singer, she is not infallible, as she freely admits. I am sure that some people are turned off by her faith in God, but at least she has it. She is a perfect example of how someone can have it all, yet in many ways have nothing, recognize that, and do her best to change her life.
We can all learn from her. As she says, "Bring it. I told the truth."
As my grandfather used to say, "Anyone who says that they haven't made mistakes is a liar and the truth isn't in them."
She truly is "everywoman"
@billybobnyc: I think Oprah did a really good job interviewing Whitney Houston. I think she took this very seriously and didn't give her softball questions at all. People always question Oprah's journalistic credibility but I think she really has what it takes and has proved that time and time again. Does she fancy herself a deity that loves her celeb friends yes, but she does have substance. I truly cannot wait for her revealing show tomorrow about Michael Jackson.
I saw Whitney perform in the late 90's and it was amazing. Probably one of the best shows I have or will ever see. Two and a half hours of pure talent and this was during the height of her drug use. I think she can come back, but she needs to really work on it.
@ArtfulSlinger: I find it interesting how she sort of skims over her participation in the emotional and physical abuse that took place. This does not seem like a woman who would have willingly walked into such a relationship and she appears to be aware of how wrong everything went down was.
TMZ recently caught up with Debra Wilson from MAD TV. She used to do a really great Whitney impression back in the day, and she spontaneously gave the paps a little show right there on the sidewalk. It was hilarious. She still does a great Whitney impression.
Okay, first of all, she was smoking crack. The rocks are clearly visible in the "Whitney's Drug Den" photos that ran in the Enquirer.
Second, when is this woman going to come out of the closet? (See: affairs with women during crack binges (Enquirer article), though I doubt the drugs made her do it.) That marriage to Bobby Brown was a sham gone bad. There have also been ongoing rumors (since the early 90's) of her having an affair with her longtime friend and personal assistant, Robin Crawford.
@Sophie needs to study...damn: They need more than black people. They also need white people who can write for black people or any other race, like the Chapelle show had.
Hold up Whitney...you really want us to believe that Bobby was cracked out painting pictures of evil eyes on shit and beheading family portraits and you were just sitting there reading the Bible???
@amoureuse is a second class citizen: i think when you don't pay for it, and you get offered key bumps, it's a light drug. once you start paying for it, it's hard. speaking from experience.
My grams and I watched this whole thing this afternoon, and it was riveting. I loved it. She was self-effacing, humorous, more unguarded than I ever seen her (not high), and totally dignified while discussing alcoholism and drug abuse. I am fascinated with the way this is being played out, because as someone who has had abuse problems before, in a family pockmarked by this sort of thing, I have high respect for people who OWN IT the way Whitney is owning it. I know it took a long time, but it's great when you get to the other side and can be candid and just say fuck it, that was crazy, but nobody's judgment of me is gonna change my life and how I am, I made this change for the better for me and the people I love. She seemed totally insular to the things people say and think about her as a national icon, and I loved that because it showed that the Being Whitney Houston bit really wasn't a part of her way of thinking for a long time leading up to this. She is in control right now, and although I'm unsure about those teeth, I am happy for her, and excited about the rest of the damn interview! I hope the album sales like fucking gangbusters, Whitney!
I just wish she'd quit saying "marijuana" - poor marijuana....don't say such a lovely word in the same sentence as your damn rock cocaine / crack damnit!
I'm glad she is clean but she is but a shadow of her former self and its sad to watch - even when she's all dressed up and looking pretty. ugh
@Scout: Anyone - especially people who have reined in excessive drug use - who claims to have been "addicted to Marijuana" pushes legitimate legalisation debate backwards.
It's non-addictive, or at worst equal to, say, 'Chocolate addiction'.
Saying otherwise gives conservitards ammunition for their populous duping crap-cannons. *pew pew pew*
@J France: I'm not saying weed can't be great, but having been very addicted to it, smoking at least 20 spliffs each and every day for years...a comment like yours is quite hurtful. I had to leave my husband, becuase he could just not quit, and is paranoid and lazy, quite different from the person he once was. weed to me is like alcohol, enjoy in moderation - but that doesn't mean it can't be dangerous.
@Worth it in the End: I think that is more a matter of neither person in your relationship wanting to make a compromise, rather than any "addiction" to weed.
You wanted him to stop - he didn't want to - that was most likely the crux of the issue.
The way Oprah glances at the camera before she says "Yeah, I get it," in that last clip kind of weirds me out. Also I get the feeling that Whitney Houston would be a blast to hang out with for a little while.
Thanks for the videos, Tracie. Between this and the VMA liveblog and clips, I feel like I've seen all the major TV events this week so far without actually having to, you know, watch them. Yay!
Wow, I'm so glad I watched these. I really appreciate her honesty because I can see this really helping some people in abusive relationships. And that last clip? So telling. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for her to try to diminish herself to make him feel like more of a "man."
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I think the interview was great and definitely shows Whitney has changed since the Diane Sawyer interview.
During her song, I keep waiting for her to really build up and smash it... but she didn't. I keep expecting the old Whitney voice, but I guess I just have to get used to her matured tones.
09/15/09
09/16/09
also the whole 'man should be the breadwinner' thing isn't just a conservative christian value. there are plenty of non-religious/atheist/whatever couples who cling to traditional gender roles and heaven forfend if a wife makes more money/has more success than the husband. you'd be surprised.
09/15/09
I think this is one of the most honest, revealing celebrity interviews I have ever seen. She did not dodge the questions, and reading some of the previous comments, I wonder - what the hell do people want from her?
She is a singer, she is not infallible, as she freely admits. I am sure that some people are turned off by her faith in God, but at least she has it. She is a perfect example of how someone can have it all, yet in many ways have nothing, recognize that, and do her best to change her life.
We can all learn from her. As she says, "Bring it. I told the truth."
As my grandfather used to say, "Anyone who says that they haven't made mistakes is a liar and the truth isn't in them."
She truly is "everywoman"
09/15/09
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09/14/09
Second, when is this woman going to come out of the closet? (See: affairs with women during crack binges (Enquirer article), though I doubt the drugs made her do it.) That marriage to Bobby Brown was a sham gone bad. There have also been ongoing rumors (since the early 90's) of her having an affair with her longtime friend and personal assistant, Robin Crawford.
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09/14/09
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Heifer...I don't think so.
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Those 2 brought out the worst in ech other.
How is cocaine a light drug?
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I'm glad she is clean but she is but a shadow of her former self and its sad to watch - even when she's all dressed up and looking pretty. ugh
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09/15/09
It's non-addictive, or at worst equal to, say, 'Chocolate addiction'.
Saying otherwise gives conservitards ammunition for their populous duping crap-cannons. *pew pew pew*
(Edit: typos)
09/15/09
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09/15/09
You wanted him to stop - he didn't want to - that was most likely the crux of the issue.
09/14/09
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09/14/09
Thanks for the videos, Tracie. Between this and the VMA liveblog and clips, I feel like I've seen all the major TV events this week so far without actually having to, you know, watch them. Yay!
09/14/09