Whitney Houston was sexually abused by her cousin Dee Dee Warwick, new documentary claims
On Wednesday (May 16), a new documentary which revolved around the early life of singer Whitney Houston was released at the Cannes Film Festival and it has made some shocking revelations about her past. One of the most jaw-dropping accusations was made against Whitney's cousin, Dee Dee Warwick. The documentary claimed that the singer was molested by Dee Dee.
While talking to IndieWire, Kevin Macdonald, the director for Whitney, said that the singer’s brother, Gary Garland was one the who disclosed the information. Gary alleged that it was Dee Dee who molested Whitney as a child. Gary agreed to appear on camera and tell his side of the story. “He’s saying I was abused by this person and told me, ‘I think she abused Whitney,'” Kevin said.
“Pat Houston [Gary’s wife], who’s here, told me that, yeah, Whitney had told her this but not given any details.” The director further added that the information was confirmed by Whitney’s aunt, Mary Jones, two months after Gary made the accusation.
Dee Dee Warwick (born Delia Mae Warrick) was the niece of Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, and the younger sister of soul star Dionne Warwick. Dee Dee had a fairly successful career with hits like the original 'I'm gonna make you love me' and'I want to be with you' to her name. She even dabbled in gospel singing. However, Whitney's fame overshadowed Dee Dee's career with her being relegated to performing background vocals for the singer. Dee Dee also struggled with narcotics addiction and died in 2008, aged 63.
Kevin mentioned that the thought of reaching out to the family occurred to him after he saw the old footage of the singer. “There was something about her discomfort in her own skin, something about the way she presents or hides, her lack of overt sexuality,” Kevin said. “She’s this beautiful woman but she’s very closed in her demeanor.”
He added, “I’d been watching her for several months and saying to editors, ‘There’s something about her that reminds me of something.'” Kevin recalled that the situation reminded me of a movie he had previously done which spoke of a child being sexually assaulted. “That led somebody to tell me, ‘Whitney told me she was abused,’ but they wouldn’t go on camera," he said.
Kevin revealed that he reached out to Whitney's ex-husband, Bobby Brown as well. “He claims not to know,” he told Indiewire. “I wouldn’t be surprised if [Houston] didn’t tell him. When you hear Mary Jones talking about it at the end, the shame that Whitney had about it, the fact that she couldn’t take to her own mother about it… I can’t imagine she would have gone there, but this is all supposition.”
Whitney died in 2012 at 48 after drowning in a bathtub. At the peak of her career in the 1980s and 90s, she had sold more than 170 million albums and starred in the box-office hit The Bodyguard. Later, the singer gave into drug and alcohol abuse which jeopardized her career greatly. An inquest into her death cited heart disease and drug use as contributing factors.