Whitney Houston's Interview with Oprah Winfrey - Part 1

Oprah Winfrey opened the 24^th season of her talk show with a much anticipated sit-down with the diva to end all divas, Whitney Houston. The interview was, at times, shocking, sad and I found myself rooting for Whitney even more.

Whitney, who is on the comeback trail with the release "I Look to You," her first studio album in seven years, has been all over the news to promote the album. While the album debuted at the top of the Billboard charts, it has received mixed reviews. However, I think people are so happy to have Whitney back among the living, they'll take it.

Much has been made about The Voice cracking on "Good Morning America," which Whitney subsequently blamed on her Oprah interview. After watching the interview, she clearly had some voice problems prior to sitting down with Oprah, because through their chat, Houston was definitely hoarse. Still, she looked like a million bucks; perfect hair and makeup, fierce leopard stilettos and a shimmering mini dress.

The bulk of the interview centered around Whitney's drug use and tumultuous 14-year union with R&B singer, Bobby Brown. Oprah wanted to know what attracted Whitney to Bobby and among the tidbits were their sexual chemistry, his sense of fun, that he let her be herself and most of all, it was one area of her life where she could acquiesce control. According to Whitney, her problems with Bobby began during The Bodyguard era, which was fairly early in their marriage (Whitney and Bobby were married on July 18, 1992; The Bodyguard was released in late 1992). Whitney claimed Bobby was jealous of the tremendous success she enjoyed during that time, which included accolades for the movie and the soundtrack which includes Whitney's iconic version of "I Will Always Love You." From The Bodyguard era on, Whitney said she was in a lot of emotional pain over her marriage to Bobby.

Throughout the interview, Whitney described the immense unhappiness she felt in her marriage and says although Bobby wasn't physically abusive, save for a slap and a spitting incident, which I'll get to in a minute, it was the emotional abuse that was almost too much to bear. Whitney frequently said she always tried to play herself down in order to build Bobby up, especially because he no longer had "his own thing." Whitney shared that part of the reason she hung on so long was her dedication to and belief in her wedding vows and also to prove wrong the naysayers who predicted her marriage would crash and burn within a matter of months.

One of the incidents Whitney described happened after a birthday party she threw for Bobby in Atlanta. For whatever reason, he was unhappy (and likely drinking; Whitney says Bobby is an alcoholic) and after yelling at her on the car ride home, spit in her face. Whitney said she responded by hitting him on the head, which her daughter, Bobbi Kristina, witnessed. Even as she talked about it years later, it was evident Whitney was still stunned by the hatred she said Bobby had for her. Whitney described this as a turning point in her marriage. Things only got worse when she discovered Bobby had been sleeping around and using her credit card to cheat on her to boot.

One of the funniest parts of the interview came when Whitney schooled Oprah on the ways of cocaine usage (because remember, crack is whack). Whitney's drugs of choice were cocaine and weed and she said she would roll them up in a joint and smoke them together. Whitney said her drug use began before The Bodyguard, but intensified during filming of The Preacher's Wife, and that the drugs were a direct result of how miserable she was in her marriage. Whitney said she reached a point where she didn't care about her career and because she had so much money, she didn't need to work anymore. Towards the end of the marriage, Bobby began to spray paint pictures of eyes all over his and Whitney's bedroom; the walls, the closets, the floors and then cut her head out of a family portrait. It was at that point Whitney said she asked God for the strength to get her out of the marriage.

In watching the interview, I mostly felt sorry for Whitney that she stayed in the marriage with Bobby Brown as long as she did, that she allowed herself to sink to his level, which she admits she did as a way of keeping him happy. I'm also hoping she gets the last laugh on Brown, who clearly did quite a number on her spirit. While Oprah asked the questions we all wanted to know, she didn't get combative with Whitney, but would press her on certain issues, some of which left Whitney speechless.

Part two airs on Tuesday and will include a performance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_Houston