Whenever someone’s life is told through a biopic, there’s always backlash from those close to the subject. Whitney Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, was not happy about the shocking revelation about her daughter getting sexually molested by her late niece, Dee Dee Warwick.
Cissy’s daughter-in-law reportedly had to break the news to her because it was going to be shared in the documentary by the singer’s former assistant.
“It was deeply a revelation for her. You think about her, and it being a bit overbearing for her to hear — and her kids not telling her. That’s pretty tough to have to deal with,” Patricia said.
Whitney and her brother Gary, who was also an alleged victim, were between the ages of 7 and 9 at the time of the abuse.
Cissy sat down with PEOPLE and delivered an emotional statement:
“Dee Dee may have had her personal challenges but the idea that she would have molested my children is overwhelming and for us unfathomable,” she said. “We cannot reconcile the public’s need to know about Whitney’s life as justification for invasion of her privacy or the charge against Dee Dee, a charge which neither Whitney nor Dee Dee is here to deny, refute or affirm.”
Cissy continued, “IF she was molested I do not believe she would have wanted it to be revealed for the first time to thousands, maybe millions of people in a film.”
Ultimately, the revelation is unbelievable but the story is still being told. Whitney is in theaters now.
