What do Marilyn Monroe, Heath Ledger, and Michael Jackson have in common with Whitney Houston?
They were all victims of drug abuse, the repercussions of insecurity and fame.
And all of their deaths were sensationalized by the media.
More than a week after Whitney Houston’s passing, as I was perusing the internet, I kept coming across article upon article related to the singer’s death on February 11. Many of these were about Houston’s funeral last Saturday, a few speaking of her supposed comeback with the movie Sparkle and her daughter’s wellbeing. And then, like a big red arrow, I saw an article describing a leaked photo of Houston’s casket that had been printed in the National Enquirer.
Because, even after death, the press does not understand how to leave celebrities alone.
In her prime, Whitney Houston was absolutely untouchable. No one who listened to “I Will Always Love You” or “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” would guess the best singer in pop music would struggle with drug addiction and money troubles for many years to come. Her marriage to Bobbi Brown probably didn’t help either of these problems, nor did her failed attempt at revitalizing her career in 2009.
Obviously, Houston’s later life was difficult, but that does not give anyone the right to make judgments about what killed her, or use some sensationalistic garbage like casket photos just to sell newspapers.
Whitney Houston’s death is tragic. I can’t say I particularly enjoy seeing anyone die so tragically, especially someone with so much talent. But the closest I’ve ever gotten to Houston was through her music—I never met her, she never knew me. Sure, I’m very sorry that she’s gone, but my pain is nothing compared to that of her family, especially that of her mother and her daughter. Those are the people I truly mourn for—the mother who’s outlived her daughter, the child who no longer has a mom. For both their sakes, I wish the media would back off and give Whitney Houston the privacy she never got when she was alive.