Chaka Khan on Whitney Houston's Death: The Dangerous People Should Have Been Kept Away
Credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images; Tibrina Hobson/WireImage.com
Chaka Khan, whose song "I'm Every Woman" was famously covered by Whitney Houston in 1993, is feeling the devastation over the superstar's death. But having known the singer so well, Khan feels deep down inside who is to really blame for the tragedy.
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"I stand on, whoever flew her out to perform at that party, should have provided someone to be there," Khan, 58, said on Piers Morgan Tonight. "To somehow, keep the riff-raff out of the situation. To keep the dangerous people away."
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The party Khan refers to is Clive Davis' annual Grammys party, where Houston, 48, was scheduled to give a much anticipated performance. And although rehearsals reportedly went swimmingly the evening before, the body of the "Saving All My Love for You" singer was submerged underwater inside a bathroom in her hotel room at the Beverly Hilton Saturday afternoon. (Davis' party went on as planned that evening.)
"I mean, I've cried for her, a lot over the years, so many times," Khan, who has struggled with drug abuse and alcoholism like Houston, said. "In a way I've mourned her, because I felt something was gonna happen because she was so close to the wire."
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15We all have our opinions of whitney, but the thing is that she is dead and buried, and its not about putting her down now, she will always be one of the most beautiful and talented women in the courtry/across the world, if it wasnt's for whitney there wouldnt be mariah or Rhianna (or Beyonce who cannot sing),,, We didnt put John Belusi down when he was high on everything he could get his hands on, we didnt talk about elvis when he, had a heart attack because of his addiction, why is it when somebody who is black , and who had an addiction is such a big media case, WHY? do we treat our beautiful black talented Icons, so badly ,, why do we allow the white media to continue to show terrible pictures of whitney, whitney houston paid her dues ,, she didnt owe this white media anything, she didnt need anybodies approval to do what ever she wanted,, she knew about her demons, and she tried to Correct her demons,but hell we all have demons, and most of us, are lucky because we dont have to deal with them,, in the public Eye,, that is the difference, whitney just couldnt be whitney, she wanted a life without everybody looking and watching,, she wasnt trying to be a Role model, she was just trying to create a life for her and her daugther, and her mother, she was a wodnerful daughther, and mother, and I think we all need to Show the Houston family some Respect, Now Micheal Jackson, family made sure somebody paid for his death, they went through great lengths to point the finger at some Doctor whom,, we knew nothing about, I do think we need to stop De-humanizing Ms, houston and her Family, it will not bring her back,, This woman was a black woman in America who had to be a certain way at home and another in Public,, that is a difficult thing to do,, SHe never really could be herself, I just thank the houston family for allowing us to share whitney with the world,, Kevin Costner waited TWO YEARS, for whitney to do the bodyguared YOu know why! because NOT one WHite woman had the voice or the LOOKs,, not one and still to this day, there is no white ,, Asian Latino woman, that has what whitney had,, Please lets just try to pray for the houston family and give thanks to GOD, who knows what his/child needed, and now that she is gone, she is in a better place and she doesnt have to suffer with her addiction anymore, lets just try to show, the houston family some Respect and give her daugther the Respect that she needs and deserves, GOd bless the houston family and friends, and her mom,,, love and blessing to all of you.
There but the grace of God goes I.
I'M BEHIND YOU 100% MICHAEL! I APPRECIATE AND RESPECT YOUR HONESTY, AS I AM A BLACK WOMAN. (I was just sharing with my 2 eldest sons..how not to tear each other down. You don't see other races, tearing down their brothers and sisters..race)...also the usage of that evil racial slur..my household doesn't use it. Even the word niggling (means something that is an annoyance)...Anyhow..I appreciate your honesty...and raw truth. Blessings to you for speaking out, what must and needs to be heard among our African-Am. brothers and sisters. Peace unto you.
with due respect i pray that Whitney is no longer a victim of this world... why is it that every freakin time a black ledgend, celebrity, or leader dies we have this, Ooh they where mysteriously on drugs, or leading a secret perverted existence, and it's always pelted out by tha white media clan that uses every tidbit of trickery 2 tear somebody down... Who died and made all of u self righteous, bigots tha name sayers all of a sudden, i'm so tired of the sleeping black community letting whites talk about everyone we hold dear that dies, we did'nt talk about Elvis, Or Rock Hudson, Or Marylin Monroe, not 2 mention John Wayne, i could go so much farther. The point is white people can't give an anology of a blacks lifestyle, career, livelihood, character, or preferences, just like blacks can't tell u about how the Bush family lives. i as a black man been all my life, rebuke all of u hatemongers who prey on blackness as a form of entertainment, look into the log in your own eyes before you search for a speck in ours...
I heard an interview with one of Whitney's previous body guards. He said that Bobby's standing order was that Whitney was not allowed to take baths becasue she tended to fall asleep. She was only allowed to take showers and after 15 minutes someone had to go check on her. Also, the drugs were prescription drugs, not illegal drugs so it becomes more of a question of whether or not she was abusing her medication or if something else happened. None of that will be known until the tox screen is complete, so guessing what happened and commenting on it is futile at this point.
Get Lost Sharon! You make me sick to my stomach! Whitney has been to rehab many times, she was on the road to recovery and trying to get her life back together. She also admitted to being her own devil wayy before ppl stopped blaming Bobby and putting it all on her. From what I've recently read on TMZ it sounded like an accident. I hope when it's your turn no one gives you the time of day! and that goes for all of you trolls and criticizers. RIP Whitney. My favorite singer in the whole wide world.
Nataki...I completely agree with you...some people just refuse to have compassion, until tragedy meets them at their very own, "front door". Good for Chaka Khan...and her absolute and complete honesty. I work in the entertainment industry and know FULL WELL, that it is about fronting images and fantasy. The industry (can and has in the past) been cruel and only out for material gain(s) and saving face. Those involved who have pushed for Whitney to perform...year after year, although she was struggling tremendously with addictions, didn't care. Hint: & he said, "the band must go on"....sickening is what it was and is. Prayers out for Bobbi Kristina, as this is a TRAGEDY in itself.
what's so hard to understand: when you're rich, famous, talented, and have absolutely everything life has to offer and MORE, why do you need drugs?
Lisa I agree with you, she knew she had a problem, knew there was help out there, never mind what it was doing to her family!!! How selfish!!!
How stupid!! She wasn't some child who needed a baby sitter, I suppose someone was supposed to hold her hand if she had to "go potty too!" tell her "No No" you cant go for a walk around the grounds? If everyone felt she was in "such a bad way" for some time, THAT was the time to do something about it.She made the decision to go to the grammy party or whatever, no one forced her.
Lisa this is for you. Have you ever struggled with anything that you just could not shake?? No matter how hard you have tried you still struggle with it? Everyone has something that they struggle with, hers sadly cost her her life. Don't be so quick to judge. No one really knows what she struggled with. Have some compassion...
Lisa this is for you. Have you ever struggled with anything that you just could not shake?? No matter how hard you have tried you still struggle with it? Everyone has something that they struggle with, hers sadly cost her her life. Don't be so quick to judge. No one really knows what she struggled with. Have some compassion...
Is "swimmingly" really the most appropriate word to use for someone who was found dead in a bathtub?
It's called addiction. It is a disease that requires extensive and consistent treatment. Part of that treatment involves keeping negative influences (triggers and enablers) away. Being judgmental and reductive does nothing but highlight what you don't understand. It's tragic. It's a huge loss. If you can't say anything useful, then say nothing.
What about personal responsibility? She shouldn't have taken drugs -- period.