Whitney, a Look Back (2022) Movie Script
1
I got the stuff that you want
Whitney Elizabeth Houston.
AKA, The Voice.
We lost her Grammy
weekend 10 years ago.
And it's hard not
to think of Whitney
when you think of the Grammys.
And the Grammy goes to...
Whitney Houston.
Whitney Houston.
Whitney Houston!
And I...
But if you only
know Whitney for her voice,
then you don't
really know Whitney.
Sometimes I look at it and
I go, how did all this happen?
God gave me something
really great,
and he doesn't give
it to everybody.
They can't take
away my dignity
Now, for the first time,
never-before-seen interviews.
They take your life and they
make it into a soap opera,
like a story they made up.
How will I know?
And personal stories
from her closest friends.
As hyper as she could be,
she was like the kid in
the candy store all the time.
I'd get a call.
Whitney and Bobby forgot
to pay their... their tab.
She was ready to live,
ready to start a new chapter,
and to get right
what wasn't right before.
It took
some time for me
To see
This is
"Whitney: A Look Back."
Whitney Elizabeth Houston.
Now, anybody in her inner circle
or her family members
called her Nippy.
Her daddy.
Her daddy gave
her that nickname.
He used to call her...
He called her Nippy.
He used to call me Noopy...
cause I had Nippy
around me so much.
Nippy and Noopy.
What do you think
fans would be most surprised to
discover about Whitney Houston?
They'll be glad
to know that I'm like them.
You know, that I joke around,
I laugh, like, really crazy.
Really crazy.
Um, you know, um,
when I wake up in the morning,
I'm not all that put together.
You know, nobody is, you know?
It's that kind of thing.
You know, I'm just like them.
You're just like them.
Just, you know, regular.
She wanted to, you know,
let's go to White
Castle's in a limousine.
That's Whitney.
I want some White Castle's.
Really, right now.
Um, so just a lot of fun.
A lot of fun.
Great sense of humor, funny.
To be able to have
time off and just laugh
was her favorite thing to do.
Oh, she was a nice person.
She laughed, you know.
She liked no confusion at all.
That wasn't her thing.
She couldn't stand all of that.
We really got along fine.
There's a lot of
love in that house.
She loved to swim.
She was almost like
an Olympic swimmer.
But these are all things
that people don't know.
What I do for fun is, uh...
I'm just very peaceful.
I... I stay at home
most of the time.
I play some tennis,
and... and I swim,
and I have massages
and things like that.
Basically being good to myself
is what I call being fun,
or having fun.
I might go out sometimes.
But I... I don't like to keep up
with, you know, what's happening
and going to this
place and that place.
I'm really not into it.
But, um, just... just being, just
being, you know, good to myself
and my family and, you
know, staying at home,
listening to music, singing.
It's fun to me.
So Whitney's
favorite thing to do
when she was at home?
Relax, just chill.
She was lazy as
all you know what.
She loved watching television.
She loved sleeping.
Habit, you know, from
resting during the day
and... and rehearsing and
practicing in... in the evenings.
She attended church sometimes.
Woo
She would come hang
out with me, you know,
and, you know,
come to church with me.
Our Father, who
art in Heaven...
Say "Praise the Lord."
- Praise the Lord.
- All right.
It gives you, I don't know,
a certain lift, you know?
Um, con... it makes you
confident, you know,
that no matter what
may happen out there,
it's all right, you know?
It's okay.
We can get through it.
Prayer is something, you
know, it gives you strength.
It really does.
It helps you out a lot out here.
There's a boy I know
He's the one
I'm dreaming of
Looks into
How frustrating is it to
live out of a suitcase?
Frustrating!
It can be very frustrating
if you actually live in one.
I don't live in a suitcase.
I've been hearing
your heart beat
Inside of me
I was planning on
becoming a teacher
or a veterinarian.
But after, um, learning
that I could sing
and what I could
do with my voice,
and when it gets
into your blood,
I guess it just
never really leaves, so...
It's shocking what
Love can do
Shocking what
She was sincere
about helping people.
She had a huge heart.
As hyper as she could be,
because she was like the kid
in the candy store all the time,
she... she had those moments when
she was so peaceful and calm.
And, uh, yeah, pretty... pretty
special person.
She was a
woman with a big heart.
She loved people.
Um, she never met a stranger.
She fed people.
She clothed people.
She helped send
people to school.
I think a lot of times
people would prefer to hear
the wild and the crazy
because in their mind,
it's... it's buzz worthy,
it's newsworthy.
It's the thing that will...
In this day, it's
called clickbait.
But to know the
Whitney that I know,
to know the Whitney that I knew,
is to truly know that
you were blessed to know
an amazing human being before
you ever got to the voice.
If you got a chance
to know her heart,
that was something special.
Do you wanna
see some lions today?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
The Bronx Zoo was desperately
in need of some lion cubs.
And I happened to know of some.
So, I mean, you know,
it's a great zoo.
And I thought that I'd
donate them to the zoo.
I named them George and Gracie.
George and Gracie.
Was this fun for
you, being part of this?
Oh, yes, it's a ball!
I love the kids, they're great.
You see that?
You want yours?
Look! Look at them!
That's what's important,
that they're happy, you know?
Yeah, they're children,
they should be.
Whitney had
one of the biggest hearts.
She embraced the next
generation of singers.
I remember Brandy talking about
how emotional she became
when she first met Whitney.
Are you okay?
I'm happy.
This is Whitney
Houston, oh my god.
I met Whitney Houston!
She loved Monica and Brandy.
That was... to Whitney,
that was the...
The future of music, you know?
She actually said that, um...
Grammy weekend,
in... in LA, the last...
The last Clive party,
when they were
on stage, rehearsing.
And we were standing down,
and she was standing there.
And she said, that's
the future, she said.
What connected me to her
was really the way she loved.
She would love others more
than she loved herself.
When I think about Whitney,
the first thing that
I picture is her smile.
It was something that, believe
it or not, she never lost.
When I think of her, I think
about the selflessness.
That was her.
She used to always tell me,
don't let them
change who you are.
She used to always point at
her chest when she talked,
or she would touch my
face when she talked.
Amazing grace,
how sweet the sound
Cigarettes make me...
ooh
There ain't nobody
No, no, nobody
In some of the
most difficult of times,
Whitney could have
been anywhere.
But she would show up.
When I was 18, I
lost my grandmother.
I lost... I witnessed a suicide.
I lost my cousin.
Whitney didn't
call on the phone.
Three black trucks pulled up
in the hood and she jumped out.
And I can hear her saying,
I know y'all know where she is!
Wait, what?
She's got the security
outside, suited and booted,
and she's pretty much
giving them the hand.
The Whitney hand.
This is the go away,
this is serious.
Go away, I got it.
And her and Bobby, they
stayed right there with me.
She was on tour when... when I
lost my second eldest brother.
And, uh, we're in the
middle of the service.
And everybody... everybody goes to
whis... you know, to whispering.
They're whispering.
And I'm like, what
are they whispering?
And it's Whitney.
She has somehow made it
to Detroit, Michigan,
made it to the funeral, and
she's walking in by herself.
It's like, scoot over!
Telling us all,
scoot down, scoot down!
You know I had to be here.
I had to be here.
This is my brother.
And we were just
like, oh my god.
I can't believe her.
But that was Whitney.
I remember being
in a car accident.
And... Whitney, she came over.
And I think she... she
slept in my bed,
in the room with
me for two days.
She would not leave, you know?
Would not leave.
This fame and the success thing,
man, it comes and goes.
You know, you're hot
today and not tomorrow or,
you know, that kind of thing.
So it's... it's important
to know that, um,
you have family and friends
that love you for you
and not because you got a
number one song on the charts.
Still ahead...
All of her awards show
performances were iconic.
But now newly discovered video
reveals that her rehearsals were
just as jaw-dropping
as the main event.
Oh, yes
There can be miracles
When you believe
The Grammys meant a
great deal to Whitney, you know?
Someone was honoring
her, you know?
Her words would be,
this is for me?
You know, for me?
She was so humbled about that.
- Whitney?
- Oh, no, the cameras.
I wouldn't want to
have anybody else here
but my mom and dad, and
my family and my friends.
It's just good to have them.
The world remembers Whitney
as The Voice, right?
Her tragic passing came
the night before the Grammys
a decade ago in 2012.
But her very first
Grammy appearance,
that was back in 1986.
If I win, that'll... that'll...
That'll be something.
But, uh, I don't
know, it's great.
It just feels good
to be mentioned.
Whitney Houston!
Can you believe this?
I knew it was me because
Dionne said, "Aah!"
That's when I know it was me.
That's when I knew.
I feel great. This is good.
It was an
exciting, thrilling thing,
to be able to say
"Whitney Houston."
I didn't hear myself say it.
I screamed it.
It was not said.
It was screamed.
I was so proud of her
and pleased for her.
I remember the scene where
they clutched each other,
because it was so emotional.
Oh, I can't tell you
how proud I am of her.
I... I was just so thrilled.
It was very, very exciting.
- Just one was fine.
- I'm satisfied.
I'm not greedy. I'm satisfied.
Whitney would
go on to win six Grammys.
But a lot of people wonder
where did she keep them.
Well, at first, you know,
when she had her
mansion in New Jersey,
she would encase
them downstairs.
And now, since her passing,
I keep them archived
here in Georgia,
in a safe place,
very safe place.
So I'm saving all
my love for you
This is her dress from
her first Grammy performance.
Look at that.
Look how tiny she was.
Well, this
is a piece of history.
It is.
And the Grammy goes to...
"I Wanna Dance with
Somebody," Whitney Houston.
Oh, I wanna
dance with somebody
Grammy number two came in 1988.
But it was really 1994
that was Whitney's year.
She had four nominations.
She won three Grammys that year.
And who can forget
how she opened the show?
I mean, it was one of those
moments that gave you chills.
I will al, I will
al, I will always
Love you
What the fans didn't get to see
was Whitney's rehearsal
earlier in the day.
She brought everybody
to a standstill.
And happiness
But above all this,
oh, I wish you
Love
And the Grammy goes to...
Whitney Houston!
This is really very special.
2012 was the
last time the Grammys
would pay tribute to Whitney,
the day after her passing.
You know, on Grammy night,
we... we mourned
Whitney, you know?
LL Cool J opened the show
with this remarkable prayer.
Heavenly Father,
we thank you for sharing
our sister, Whitney, with us.
We remain truly blessed
to have been touched by
her beautiful spirit.
Jennifer Hudson had came
and did a little bit of
"I Will Always Love You."
Whitney, we love
We love you
Coming up...
Oh yeah
Long before Whitney
became a Grammy winner,
she was just a kid in the
church choir, finding her voice.
And she almost had a career that
had nothing to do with singing.
When they found out that
I did sing, it was like,
oh, so besides
that, you can sing,
so let's... let's
deal with that, too.
You know, I... I've
been working in the studio
since I was 12.
Love's heavy
Love is heavy
That is a
20-year-old Whitney Houston
with Jermaine Jackson.
This was a full year before she
ever released her debut album.
But you already knew that
Whitney Houston understood.
She understood
what it would take
to really make it
in the business.
It's not all
it's cracked up to be.
It ain't all the glamor
and... and all that stuff.
It's hard work.
The only trouble I had,
Whitney was running her mouth.
And I still have a
big problem with it.
There was one time I'd kill her.
Okay...
You know?
Whitney always had
impeccable style.
But people forget that
she started as a model
before she became a
professional singer.
Yeah, that's beautiful.
Super.
People in the modeling business
really never knew
that I did sing.
So when they found out that
I did sing, it was like,
oh, so besides
that, you can sing.
So let's... let's
deal with that too.
Lord
Mm, Jesus
I think I was about maybe
11 or 12 when I, um,
first got a solo in church.
And, um, the reaction from,
you know, the people in church
kind of gave me
an inclination of,
you know, what it
could possibly be like.
When I first
met Whitney Houston,
she was 18.
So her brother Gary and Whitney
were the background singers
for the Cissy Houston show.
When I heard her audition for me
with "The Greatest Love of All,"
I was flabbergasted.
I mean, that was a
song I commissioned.
I had heard it time
and time again.
When I was just
a young teenager,
I went to the theater and saw
a movie called "The Greatest."
This was about the
life of Muhammad Ali.
And in that movie,
there was a song
that was as inspirational
as the man himself.
The greatest love of all...
She took a song
that I knew intimately
and made me feel that I
had never heard it before.
Hello, good evening,
and welcome to the Roxy and
"The Whitney Houston Show."
A lot of people
think that it's, uh,
happened just like that,
where I just said,
boom, I come out,
and I make a record,
and this is it.
But it's about 10 years to
prepare my head and my-myself to
deal with all of this happening,
what's happening with me.
Let the children's
Laugh
God gave me something
really great.
And he doesn't give
it to everybody.
Ooh hoo
How will I know?
Don't trust your feelings
But how will I know?
There's been Aretha Franklin
and there's been this lady.
And this lady will go
on to conquer the world.
And she's already conquered it.
So, well done, Whitney.
The total figure
that this plaque represents,
that Whitney worldwide has sold,
85 million records.
I miss Whitney.
She trusted me.
And, um, I always held that
very close to my heart.
And, you know,
I failed along with her
in conquering her demon.
And I tried at every turn.
I consider myself a diva.
It's a certain class,
a certain technique.
There's a certain style.
There's a certain
aura that a diva has.
Woo!
Still ahead...
When it comes
to Whitney's most iconic
performances, I mean, it's
almost impossible to rank them.
But I think there's always two
that you have to talk about:
the national anthem...
Oh say can you see
and of
course, "The Bodyguard."
And I...
But the film
almost didn't happen.
We postponed the
movie for a year.
...will always love you...
Oh,
say can you see
They wanted her to
lip sync the song.
She didn't want to do it,
because she can't lip sync good.
She said, I wanna sing it.
And she sang it.
And she sang it.
Whitney performed
at the Super Bowl in 1991.
It was the 25th anniversary
of the big game.
But what people forget is also,
our country had
just gone to war.
So everyone really
was coming together.
When I looked out there
in the audience, uh,
amongst all those 85,000 people,
I kind of blocked
everything out,
and I kind of went
to the Persian Gulf,
where the fellas were.
And the rocket's red glare
And I tried to imagine what
they were going through.
And the more I
thought about that,
the stronger it
became inside of me.
It was for them
that I sang it for.
So I became a true
American, you know?
I felt proud to be an American.
I felt proud that I was
a part of this country.
And the land of the brave...
I said, I've gotta
release it as a single.
And we did, and it broke
every record of all time.
Still the greatest to ever
sing "Star-Spangled Banner."
When Whitney touched
something, it became hers.
And that's how it
was being her friend.
1991 was a huge
year for Whitney.
It was "The Star-Spangled
Banner" moment.
And then she started
filming "The Bodyguard."
But so many people thought
that's where she started acting.
It wasn't.
Hi!
One of Whitney's
first acting gigs was in 1985
on the Ricky Schroder
show "Silver Spoons."
- I'm playing myself.
- And I'm performing.
I'm doing a video at this club.
I find that it comes sort
of naturally, in a way,
I mean, being a performer.
Saving all my love for you
My main focus is my music
and my singing career.
But, um, this is something that
I would like and enjoy to do.
What do you
hope to get out of this?
I don't know.
I guess everybody
will see my face.
Woo!
She loved film, you know?
Movies. Loved movies.
And, uh, she loved old movies.
I don't wanna be a movie star.
Um, I just want to
try my hand at it.
Um, the one thing that is most
important to me about acting
and being on the screen
is that I am believable.
And that has to come across,
because if it
doesn't come across,
I ain't never gonna
do a movie again.
Yeah, yeah,
I got a film coming out.
Is this your first?
This is my first, yeah.
I mean, you haven't seen
me in any movies, have you?
Lately?
I got the thing
that you need
So the story behind "The
Bodyguard" is pretty incredible
because Kevin Costner called
Whitney directly and said,
you are the only person I can
envision playing this role.
And if you don't
accept this part,
we're not gonna make the movie.
A lot of questions about
that, the wisdom of doing it.
I thought that she was, like,
really worth it, you know?
In fact, we postponed
the movie for a year,
Which then set everybody...
You're waiting a year for
someone
that doesn't even
know how to act?
You know, I said, yeah,
we're gonna do that.
If I
I made her a promise.
I said, you will
not be embarrassed,
and you'll be very
proud of yourself
at the end of this movie.
And I...
Will always love you...
Kevin chose the song.
He said, Whitney, I'm
telling you, this song?
You're gonna love this song.
This song is beautiful.
Dolly wrote it.
My darling, you
I listened to it and I said,
you're absolutely right.
This is the song.
Memories
It was number one in the
'70s and again in the '80s,
but it did not have the
success that it's had
with Whitney Houston.
She called me one night.
It was really late.
And she said, sis,
you gotta hear this.
And I had no words after hearing
the songs from that soundtrack.
And I think in that moment,
I think she really realized
how beautiful her gift was.
She had no words.
I just knew it would take her to
another whole level of stardom.
And I...
We had some... some
kissing scenes.
We've had some, uh,
intimate scenes to do.
Kevin, he was like,
whatever makes you comfortable
is what we'll do, you know?
You know, so I was
like, all right,
well, don't put your tongue
in my mouth, first of all.
I did.
I've never felt
this safe before.
Over the years,
there were rumors
that Whitney turned down roles
in huge movies like "Dreamgirls"
and "A Star Is Born."
Think about that.
But it... it really felt like the
movies that she did say yes to
not only helped
her professionally,
but it... it really cemented
lifelong friendships
that she kept throughout.
I closed my
eyes and I... exhaled.
I liked that there was
finally gonna be a film
about African-American
women finally, you know?
We get to see how they
live, what they go through.
I believe in you and me
I believe that we will be
In the, uh,
meetings that we had,
we talked about Julia Roberts.
But Whitney made so much
sense for so many reasons.
Denzel cornered me and he said,
Whitney, you're
gonna do this movie.
And I said, well, why?
What is this, you know...
He said, it's a very
important movie.
It's about community.
It's about helping
the community.
It's about spirit of love
and hope and charity.
Plus, you know,
you can sing gospel.
I said, Denzel, you've
never heard me sing gospel.
He said, yeah, but
I've heard your mother.
I thought, boy, you know, you
know how to get me good, right?
Help is on the way
Yeah
Fol-de-rol and fiddly-dee
Fiddly, faddly, foddle
Who are you?
I'm your fairy
godmother, honey.
She called me and asked
me if I would be Cinderella.
It flatters me, really,
to have someone who... who...
Who loves me that much,
who listens to me.
She listened to me intently.
Sometimes I'm her mother.
Sometimes I'm her sister.
Sometimes I'm her friend.
Sometimes, you know,
I'm her fairy godmother.
There is music
In you...
Coming up...
Of course, we have to talk about
Whitney and Bobby Brown.
You know, people had
a lot of feelings
about that relationship.
And Whitney had
a lot of feelings
about people's feelings.
Sometimes I
read the tabloids and I go,
oh god, this is so awful.
They think that they
already know you, you know?
And they really don't.
He builds me up
Hi, Whitney,
how are you doing?
Hi, how are you doing?
Why do you think these things
keep getting hotter and hotter?
Because people are
hotter and hotter.
Yeah!
Everybody's talkin'
all this stuff about me
Whitney first met Bobby in 1989
at the Soul Train Awards.
She was very excited
about meeting Bobby.
Four months later,
Bobby showed up at her
26th birthday party.
And that's kind of when
everything just started.
Listen, Bobby
was the life of the party.
He always liked to
be front and center.
I mean, he was Bobby Brown.
Let's not forget how
big he was at that time.
Whitney, Whitney, Whitney.
Um, she invited me.
I'm having a great time.
Happy
Birthday
- I can tell you this...
- I love Bobby and Bobby loves me.
And we're the best of friends.
And, um, we're in love.
And, um, I'm happy and so is he.
Plans for
a wedding, confirm/deny?
Yeah, there's
gonna be a wedding.
You'll know it.
You'll know better when
it happens, I'm sure.
Enough said!
Whitney and
Bobby said I do in 1992.
And in those early years, those
two had so much fun together.
You know, I remember she and
Bobby going shopping together,
to shop for furniture.
You know, grocery shopping.
She loved going out to, um...
For breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Boy, do I remember.
Sometimes I'd get a call.
Um, Miss Pat?
Um, I think, uh,
Whitney and Bobby forgot
to pay their... their tab.
Can you come over?
And I'm like, no they didn't!
You know?
I'd have to go over
to the restaurant.
Bobby and I
aren't afraid to talk.
We're not afraid to
ask each other, what,
you want me to leave? You know?
You want me to go out the door
and leave you alone for a while?
Okay, honey, I'll be
right back, you know?
And everybody who said
what an interesting mismatch
relationship it was was...
Mm. Mm-hmm.
Lisa, they have no idea.
They don't know either he or I
to say that we are
mismatched, you know?
Not long after Whitney
and Bobby got married,
she revealed to the world
that she was expecting.
In a couple of months,
it's gonna come out,
and it's gonna be these hands
and this face and these feet.
And you're gonna go,
oh, that was you in me!
You know? It's exciting.
When she hears her
father's music, you know...
If she hears "Humpin' Around"?
It's over.
She's gonna be goin'
Humpin' around
- I love it.
- Loves it.
Ain't nobody
humpin' around
Ain't nobody
humpin' around
You know, it's interesting,
'cause life really
changed for Whitney
after she gave birth
to Bobbi Kristina.
She loved being a mom.
It was a beautiful thing to see,
how much she cared
and loved her.
It's a
different thing, you know?
Um, when you become a mother.
It changes your whole
perspective on life, you know?
You really don't
live for you anymore.
You're living for your children.
That was something that
she really wanted, a family.
And she wanted a strong
family, you know?
And so she was determined
not to allow the business
to stop that from happening.
She's a baby.
And she doesn't
deserve to be, um,
put into this mess, you know?
Uh, this press thing
and all that madness.
She doesn't deserve to
be followed, you know?
Or be taken pictures
of her all the time.
And I'm very, very
protective of her.
And I will fight you.
And I will tear your house
down brick by brick about her.
So, you know,
that's my... that's my...
That's my strength now.
Whitney's having a baby,
Whitney's having a baby
Bobby and Whitney
are having a baby
You know, Whitney was
so excited to be pregnant again.
Um, unfortunately she
ended up losing the baby.
That wasn't the first
miscarriage she had.
If you go back and you look
at one of my favorite photos
of she and I, I'm
holding her stomach.
But that baby didn't survive.
People don't realize exactly
what she experienced.
She lost a baby around
the time of "The Bodyguard."
There was a lot
going on around her,
but not enough privacy for her
to be able to be who she
needed to be, you know?
For her husband
and for her child.
Everyone was watching,
so how can you survive that when
you've got everybody in-involved
in your marriage and
your relationship?
Whitney and Bobby together,
it was one of the most
polarizing relationships
that we saw play
out in front of us.
I mean, they did face
a lot of criticism.
But Whitney stayed by him.
She stayed by him
through so much.
And I think the two of them
developed this us against
the world type of attitude.
Stay strong, baby.
I got your back.
The whole world
knows that the press
loves to be up in my
business, you know?
Like they really know.
It's like every day, every day,
Whitney, Bobby,
Whitney, Bobby...
You know, I was like,
you know, come on.
What do you think has been
the biggest price for fame
that you had to pay?
My privacy. My life.
I'm a mother.
And it's not a joke anymore.
Damn the jokes!
It's not funny.
She's seven today.
My baby, she's around
here somewhere.
She's seven and I
want her to stay four.
And she's seven.
I'm real proud of her.
She's a good girl.
You're the princess, huh?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
You're running the household?
Yeah, kind of.
Pretty much these days, yeah.
I need to sing.
I don't need a career.
It's wonderful that I have one,
and it's been very good to me.
I worked very hard at it.
But I need my family more
than I need a career.
That is the
greatest love of all.
That is the love
that is limitless.
That's why her and Krissy
were the way that they were.
That's who she knew saw
nothing but the best in her
and loved her unconditionally.
So Bobbi Kristina was, um,
about to start her
own singing career.
She wanted to follow in
her mother's footsteps.
You guys will be
hearing a lot from me,
you know, in the
next year or so.
So, look out for that.
I'm excited.
Um, Mom's excited.
We're all ready for it.
Bobbi Kristina, or
Krissy, would pass away
just three years after Whitney.
And tragically, she died
in a eerily similar way.
But before Whitney died, she
was optimistic about the future.
Still ahead...
There are new, untold stories
about Whitney's final days.
I'm at a good pace,
you know what I'm saying?
I'm at a good pace.
I... I want, um, healthy projects.
It was supposed to
be an exciting time.
I was looking
forward to spending
a lot more time with her.
She was ready to live.
So tell me why
Why does it
hurt so bad, baby?
Well, there's a bridge
And there's a river
That I still must cross
I'm... I'm at a good pace,
you know what I'm saying?
I'm not in any rush to be
a bigger star or anything.
I have nothing to prove.
She was ready to live.
Ready to love, ready
to start a new chapter.
And to get right
what wasn't right before.
She was talking about looking
at a place in Orange County
to be near the water.
For somebody to be looking
so forward to life,
I just didn't get it.
- I know
- I know
He watches,
thank you, Lord
Over me
The last time I spoke to Whitney
was the week that she passed.
I called her before she got on
the plane to go to California.
I was just calling
to check up on her.
Hey, Nip, you good?
I'm good, I'm good.
Are you good for real?
Yeah, I'm good.
She said, I'm on my
way to sing for Clive,
going to the Grammys.
I said, all right,
well, have a good trip
and I'll talk to you later.
And that was the last time.
Whitney's very last performance
was on stage with Kelly
Price in a small nightclub.
And it was completely unplanned.
I feel like that's kind
of a gift that God gave me,
because even if we
didn't know, he knew.
Um, and so it gave me
one last opportunity to share
a very intimate and
special moment with her.
She pushed me to sing to
my limit and didn't care.
, Whitney,
I love you so much for that.
You are a class act.
You are an icon.
I was having a Grammy
celebration party.
I had three
nominations that year.
And she called me and she said,
I'm gonna be there for you.
And I was like, yay!
So she was there,
and we had a ball.
I wasn't expecting
her to sing at all.
Um, she came up on the stage.
She made her way to the stage.
And she was like,
give me the microphone.
I would've never asked
her to take the stage.
I would've never stuck
the microphone in her face.
Everyone that was there
was performing that night.
And, uh, she started...
She took the microphone,
and she started to sing
"Yes, Jesus Loves Me."
Yes, Jesus loves me
Oh, yes
Whitney was raspy that night.
She was raspy that night.
Um, and she was well aware of
what was going on
with her voice.
She was working very hard in
that moment, during that time,
even here in Los Angeles
that week,
to do what was necessary to
get it back to where it was,
because music really was
at the center of her heart.
It was.
Tells, tells me so
Jesus loves me
For the Bible
It tells me
So
But more importantly,
when we were done,
when she grabbed me
and she embraced me,
she told me, Kelly, I love you.
I'm so proud of you.
You did it. You're doing it.
Um, you haven't let the jungle
of this business change you.
For a lot of people,
the 10 years...
it resonates.
But for me, it's
like 10 minutes.
It's like 10 days.
I can remember prepping
for the pre-Grammy show
and feeling like I'm
gonna make her proud.
She was in and out
of the rehearsals.
She kept touching my face and
just telling me... you got it.
Don't worry about it.
Doesn't matter who's watching.
You... you the greatest
of the great.
That was something she
used to always tell me.
She would always
tell me, like...
you forget who you are.
And that's a mistake
I always made.
Literally when it happened,
we had just seen each
other 30 hours before.
And when I think about it, I
think the moment I found out,
um, and how unbelievable it was.
I was praying it was
a cruel internet hoax.
Being in the hotel that night,
even after losing Whitney,
the only person I trusted
to even tell me what to do
or where to go was Miss Dionne.
And so when she
said, you stay here,
you're the only person I want
to keep Krissy, stay here,
that's what I did.
Gary had told me that Whitney
had wanted to talk to me.
This was a few days prior.
She asked me, Pat,
why do people judge me?
That was the first time
she'd really spoken
about being judged.
And I was struggling.
I was praying, like,
God, give me the words.
And I said,
only God can judge you
at his appointed time.
I'm just gonna stay out here
with her until we go back.
We can go back together.
And I didn't realize
that on that Monday,
I was taking her home.
But it was me and Gary
taking her home to Jersey,
taking her home to her mother.
Dionne was with us.
And we're all sitting
on that plane.
And she's in the
back of the plane.
And my heart went out to
both Gary and to Dionne.
The phone rang.
And Gary was screaming
and hollering
and all that kind of
business, you know, crying.
And I said,
what's wrong with you?
He couldn't tell me.
He was saying, ah, Nippy, Nippy.
Kept saying, Nippy, Nippy.
I said, what about her?
He said, they found her.
I said, what happened?
She dead?
He said, yes, Mama, she's dead.
Then my doorbell
rang after a while.
And I went to the door.
And, um, nobody was there.
And the doorbell rang again.
And I went back to the door.
There was no one there.
And I called down
to the concierge.
I said, somebody is
ringing my doorbell.
You know, I don't
know what's going on.
He said, I have
you on the screen.
He said, nobody's there.
And I said, well, maybe
she did come home.
No one ever knows
I sang a song at her
homegoing, at her funeral,
called, "Don't Cry for Me."
Don't cry for me
Don't shed a tear
And it was a song that I
recorded years before that,
but also a song that Whitney
used to sing in her show.
Don't cry...
For...
Me
It came from my heart.
And, um, I believe it would
have made her really happy.
I will never
leave your side
I remember Whitney's funeral.
I remember being in that church.
And it was such an
emotional day for everyone.
Tyler Perry,
who tried to preach the house
down that day, we were wrecked.
Kevin Costner, who I had no
idea was a preacher's kid,
snatched my heart in his hand.
So off you go, Whitney.
Off you go.
Escorted by an army of angels
to your Heavenly Father.
Probably the most
gripping moment for me
was when the service was over,
and the pallbearers
grabbed her casket.
And in sync, it was almost
like synchronized swimming,
it was so perfect.
Or maybe that's just
the way I saw it.
But they raised her
casket to start walking,
and they started playing
"I Will Always Love You."
And when they walked
past Mama Cissy,
she stepped out, and she
laid her hand on the casket,
and she just dropped her head.
I'm getting chills
thinking about it.
And... and my soul
just, like, it sunk.
It... it sunk in that moment.
It was real.
It was real at that moment.
And I...
Will always...
One thing that outshines
whatever was said in
any negative manner
is what she did.
I don't believe that the
tabloids destroyed the legacy
because it's written.
It's there.
You know, there are
moments where I feel,
towards the end of her life,
she had decided,
I'm gonna be me.
You get it how you get it.
Because I think that that
is what she always wanted.
It's not right,
but it's okay
I'm gonna make it...
No matter what,
she's always Whitney.
She's always gonna hold
the place that she holds
in history, in music,
hopefully in our hearts
and in our minds.
I'm every woman
It's all in me
The fact is
no voice has come close.
No one sacrificed
as much as she did.
There were multiple times
where she was self-sacrificing
for our entertainment.
You can't disrespect a
woman that gives that much.
You can't disgrace a woman
that's given that much.
And you can't change that
no one's touched who she is,
and what she was, and
how she sang ever since.
- Me.
- That's all I wanna be is me.
I can't emulate anyone's career,
because this is my
career, you know?
And I don't think that
anyone who will come,
you know, after me will be
able to emulate mine, you know?
Everybody has their
own, you know?
Basically this is me and
that's all I wanna be, is me.
You have been such
a great audience.
I hope that you've enjoyed me
as much as I have enjoyed you.
Yes, baby. Yeah, thank you.
I got the stuff that you want
Whitney Elizabeth Houston.
AKA, The Voice.
We lost her Grammy
weekend 10 years ago.
And it's hard not
to think of Whitney
when you think of the Grammys.
And the Grammy goes to...
Whitney Houston.
Whitney Houston.
Whitney Houston!
And I...
But if you only
know Whitney for her voice,
then you don't
really know Whitney.
Sometimes I look at it and
I go, how did all this happen?
God gave me something
really great,
and he doesn't give
it to everybody.
They can't take
away my dignity
Now, for the first time,
never-before-seen interviews.
They take your life and they
make it into a soap opera,
like a story they made up.
How will I know?
And personal stories
from her closest friends.
As hyper as she could be,
she was like the kid in
the candy store all the time.
I'd get a call.
Whitney and Bobby forgot
to pay their... their tab.
She was ready to live,
ready to start a new chapter,
and to get right
what wasn't right before.
It took
some time for me
To see
This is
"Whitney: A Look Back."
Whitney Elizabeth Houston.
Now, anybody in her inner circle
or her family members
called her Nippy.
Her daddy.
Her daddy gave
her that nickname.
He used to call her...
He called her Nippy.
He used to call me Noopy...
cause I had Nippy
around me so much.
Nippy and Noopy.
What do you think
fans would be most surprised to
discover about Whitney Houston?
They'll be glad
to know that I'm like them.
You know, that I joke around,
I laugh, like, really crazy.
Really crazy.
Um, you know, um,
when I wake up in the morning,
I'm not all that put together.
You know, nobody is, you know?
It's that kind of thing.
You know, I'm just like them.
You're just like them.
Just, you know, regular.
She wanted to, you know,
let's go to White
Castle's in a limousine.
That's Whitney.
I want some White Castle's.
Really, right now.
Um, so just a lot of fun.
A lot of fun.
Great sense of humor, funny.
To be able to have
time off and just laugh
was her favorite thing to do.
Oh, she was a nice person.
She laughed, you know.
She liked no confusion at all.
That wasn't her thing.
She couldn't stand all of that.
We really got along fine.
There's a lot of
love in that house.
She loved to swim.
She was almost like
an Olympic swimmer.
But these are all things
that people don't know.
What I do for fun is, uh...
I'm just very peaceful.
I... I stay at home
most of the time.
I play some tennis,
and... and I swim,
and I have massages
and things like that.
Basically being good to myself
is what I call being fun,
or having fun.
I might go out sometimes.
But I... I don't like to keep up
with, you know, what's happening
and going to this
place and that place.
I'm really not into it.
But, um, just... just being, just
being, you know, good to myself
and my family and, you
know, staying at home,
listening to music, singing.
It's fun to me.
So Whitney's
favorite thing to do
when she was at home?
Relax, just chill.
She was lazy as
all you know what.
She loved watching television.
She loved sleeping.
Habit, you know, from
resting during the day
and... and rehearsing and
practicing in... in the evenings.
She attended church sometimes.
Woo
She would come hang
out with me, you know,
and, you know,
come to church with me.
Our Father, who
art in Heaven...
Say "Praise the Lord."
- Praise the Lord.
- All right.
It gives you, I don't know,
a certain lift, you know?
Um, con... it makes you
confident, you know,
that no matter what
may happen out there,
it's all right, you know?
It's okay.
We can get through it.
Prayer is something, you
know, it gives you strength.
It really does.
It helps you out a lot out here.
There's a boy I know
He's the one
I'm dreaming of
Looks into
How frustrating is it to
live out of a suitcase?
Frustrating!
It can be very frustrating
if you actually live in one.
I don't live in a suitcase.
I've been hearing
your heart beat
Inside of me
I was planning on
becoming a teacher
or a veterinarian.
But after, um, learning
that I could sing
and what I could
do with my voice,
and when it gets
into your blood,
I guess it just
never really leaves, so...
It's shocking what
Love can do
Shocking what
She was sincere
about helping people.
She had a huge heart.
As hyper as she could be,
because she was like the kid
in the candy store all the time,
she... she had those moments when
she was so peaceful and calm.
And, uh, yeah, pretty... pretty
special person.
She was a
woman with a big heart.
She loved people.
Um, she never met a stranger.
She fed people.
She clothed people.
She helped send
people to school.
I think a lot of times
people would prefer to hear
the wild and the crazy
because in their mind,
it's... it's buzz worthy,
it's newsworthy.
It's the thing that will...
In this day, it's
called clickbait.
But to know the
Whitney that I know,
to know the Whitney that I knew,
is to truly know that
you were blessed to know
an amazing human being before
you ever got to the voice.
If you got a chance
to know her heart,
that was something special.
Do you wanna
see some lions today?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
The Bronx Zoo was desperately
in need of some lion cubs.
And I happened to know of some.
So, I mean, you know,
it's a great zoo.
And I thought that I'd
donate them to the zoo.
I named them George and Gracie.
George and Gracie.
Was this fun for
you, being part of this?
Oh, yes, it's a ball!
I love the kids, they're great.
You see that?
You want yours?
Look! Look at them!
That's what's important,
that they're happy, you know?
Yeah, they're children,
they should be.
Whitney had
one of the biggest hearts.
She embraced the next
generation of singers.
I remember Brandy talking about
how emotional she became
when she first met Whitney.
Are you okay?
I'm happy.
This is Whitney
Houston, oh my god.
I met Whitney Houston!
She loved Monica and Brandy.
That was... to Whitney,
that was the...
The future of music, you know?
She actually said that, um...
Grammy weekend,
in... in LA, the last...
The last Clive party,
when they were
on stage, rehearsing.
And we were standing down,
and she was standing there.
And she said, that's
the future, she said.
What connected me to her
was really the way she loved.
She would love others more
than she loved herself.
When I think about Whitney,
the first thing that
I picture is her smile.
It was something that, believe
it or not, she never lost.
When I think of her, I think
about the selflessness.
That was her.
She used to always tell me,
don't let them
change who you are.
She used to always point at
her chest when she talked,
or she would touch my
face when she talked.
Amazing grace,
how sweet the sound
Cigarettes make me...
ooh
There ain't nobody
No, no, nobody
In some of the
most difficult of times,
Whitney could have
been anywhere.
But she would show up.
When I was 18, I
lost my grandmother.
I lost... I witnessed a suicide.
I lost my cousin.
Whitney didn't
call on the phone.
Three black trucks pulled up
in the hood and she jumped out.
And I can hear her saying,
I know y'all know where she is!
Wait, what?
She's got the security
outside, suited and booted,
and she's pretty much
giving them the hand.
The Whitney hand.
This is the go away,
this is serious.
Go away, I got it.
And her and Bobby, they
stayed right there with me.
She was on tour when... when I
lost my second eldest brother.
And, uh, we're in the
middle of the service.
And everybody... everybody goes to
whis... you know, to whispering.
They're whispering.
And I'm like, what
are they whispering?
And it's Whitney.
She has somehow made it
to Detroit, Michigan,
made it to the funeral, and
she's walking in by herself.
It's like, scoot over!
Telling us all,
scoot down, scoot down!
You know I had to be here.
I had to be here.
This is my brother.
And we were just
like, oh my god.
I can't believe her.
But that was Whitney.
I remember being
in a car accident.
And... Whitney, she came over.
And I think she... she
slept in my bed,
in the room with
me for two days.
She would not leave, you know?
Would not leave.
This fame and the success thing,
man, it comes and goes.
You know, you're hot
today and not tomorrow or,
you know, that kind of thing.
So it's... it's important
to know that, um,
you have family and friends
that love you for you
and not because you got a
number one song on the charts.
Still ahead...
All of her awards show
performances were iconic.
But now newly discovered video
reveals that her rehearsals were
just as jaw-dropping
as the main event.
Oh, yes
There can be miracles
When you believe
The Grammys meant a
great deal to Whitney, you know?
Someone was honoring
her, you know?
Her words would be,
this is for me?
You know, for me?
She was so humbled about that.
- Whitney?
- Oh, no, the cameras.
I wouldn't want to
have anybody else here
but my mom and dad, and
my family and my friends.
It's just good to have them.
The world remembers Whitney
as The Voice, right?
Her tragic passing came
the night before the Grammys
a decade ago in 2012.
But her very first
Grammy appearance,
that was back in 1986.
If I win, that'll... that'll...
That'll be something.
But, uh, I don't
know, it's great.
It just feels good
to be mentioned.
Whitney Houston!
Can you believe this?
I knew it was me because
Dionne said, "Aah!"
That's when I know it was me.
That's when I knew.
I feel great. This is good.
It was an
exciting, thrilling thing,
to be able to say
"Whitney Houston."
I didn't hear myself say it.
I screamed it.
It was not said.
It was screamed.
I was so proud of her
and pleased for her.
I remember the scene where
they clutched each other,
because it was so emotional.
Oh, I can't tell you
how proud I am of her.
I... I was just so thrilled.
It was very, very exciting.
- Just one was fine.
- I'm satisfied.
I'm not greedy. I'm satisfied.
Whitney would
go on to win six Grammys.
But a lot of people wonder
where did she keep them.
Well, at first, you know,
when she had her
mansion in New Jersey,
she would encase
them downstairs.
And now, since her passing,
I keep them archived
here in Georgia,
in a safe place,
very safe place.
So I'm saving all
my love for you
This is her dress from
her first Grammy performance.
Look at that.
Look how tiny she was.
Well, this
is a piece of history.
It is.
And the Grammy goes to...
"I Wanna Dance with
Somebody," Whitney Houston.
Oh, I wanna
dance with somebody
Grammy number two came in 1988.
But it was really 1994
that was Whitney's year.
She had four nominations.
She won three Grammys that year.
And who can forget
how she opened the show?
I mean, it was one of those
moments that gave you chills.
I will al, I will
al, I will always
Love you
What the fans didn't get to see
was Whitney's rehearsal
earlier in the day.
She brought everybody
to a standstill.
And happiness
But above all this,
oh, I wish you
Love
And the Grammy goes to...
Whitney Houston!
This is really very special.
2012 was the
last time the Grammys
would pay tribute to Whitney,
the day after her passing.
You know, on Grammy night,
we... we mourned
Whitney, you know?
LL Cool J opened the show
with this remarkable prayer.
Heavenly Father,
we thank you for sharing
our sister, Whitney, with us.
We remain truly blessed
to have been touched by
her beautiful spirit.
Jennifer Hudson had came
and did a little bit of
"I Will Always Love You."
Whitney, we love
We love you
Coming up...
Oh yeah
Long before Whitney
became a Grammy winner,
she was just a kid in the
church choir, finding her voice.
And she almost had a career that
had nothing to do with singing.
When they found out that
I did sing, it was like,
oh, so besides
that, you can sing,
so let's... let's
deal with that, too.
You know, I... I've
been working in the studio
since I was 12.
Love's heavy
Love is heavy
That is a
20-year-old Whitney Houston
with Jermaine Jackson.
This was a full year before she
ever released her debut album.
But you already knew that
Whitney Houston understood.
She understood
what it would take
to really make it
in the business.
It's not all
it's cracked up to be.
It ain't all the glamor
and... and all that stuff.
It's hard work.
The only trouble I had,
Whitney was running her mouth.
And I still have a
big problem with it.
There was one time I'd kill her.
Okay...
You know?
Whitney always had
impeccable style.
But people forget that
she started as a model
before she became a
professional singer.
Yeah, that's beautiful.
Super.
People in the modeling business
really never knew
that I did sing.
So when they found out that
I did sing, it was like,
oh, so besides
that, you can sing.
So let's... let's
deal with that too.
Lord
Mm, Jesus
I think I was about maybe
11 or 12 when I, um,
first got a solo in church.
And, um, the reaction from,
you know, the people in church
kind of gave me
an inclination of,
you know, what it
could possibly be like.
When I first
met Whitney Houston,
she was 18.
So her brother Gary and Whitney
were the background singers
for the Cissy Houston show.
When I heard her audition for me
with "The Greatest Love of All,"
I was flabbergasted.
I mean, that was a
song I commissioned.
I had heard it time
and time again.
When I was just
a young teenager,
I went to the theater and saw
a movie called "The Greatest."
This was about the
life of Muhammad Ali.
And in that movie,
there was a song
that was as inspirational
as the man himself.
The greatest love of all...
She took a song
that I knew intimately
and made me feel that I
had never heard it before.
Hello, good evening,
and welcome to the Roxy and
"The Whitney Houston Show."
A lot of people
think that it's, uh,
happened just like that,
where I just said,
boom, I come out,
and I make a record,
and this is it.
But it's about 10 years to
prepare my head and my-myself to
deal with all of this happening,
what's happening with me.
Let the children's
Laugh
God gave me something
really great.
And he doesn't give
it to everybody.
Ooh hoo
How will I know?
Don't trust your feelings
But how will I know?
There's been Aretha Franklin
and there's been this lady.
And this lady will go
on to conquer the world.
And she's already conquered it.
So, well done, Whitney.
The total figure
that this plaque represents,
that Whitney worldwide has sold,
85 million records.
I miss Whitney.
She trusted me.
And, um, I always held that
very close to my heart.
And, you know,
I failed along with her
in conquering her demon.
And I tried at every turn.
I consider myself a diva.
It's a certain class,
a certain technique.
There's a certain style.
There's a certain
aura that a diva has.
Woo!
Still ahead...
When it comes
to Whitney's most iconic
performances, I mean, it's
almost impossible to rank them.
But I think there's always two
that you have to talk about:
the national anthem...
Oh say can you see
and of
course, "The Bodyguard."
And I...
But the film
almost didn't happen.
We postponed the
movie for a year.
...will always love you...
Oh,
say can you see
They wanted her to
lip sync the song.
She didn't want to do it,
because she can't lip sync good.
She said, I wanna sing it.
And she sang it.
And she sang it.
Whitney performed
at the Super Bowl in 1991.
It was the 25th anniversary
of the big game.
But what people forget is also,
our country had
just gone to war.
So everyone really
was coming together.
When I looked out there
in the audience, uh,
amongst all those 85,000 people,
I kind of blocked
everything out,
and I kind of went
to the Persian Gulf,
where the fellas were.
And the rocket's red glare
And I tried to imagine what
they were going through.
And the more I
thought about that,
the stronger it
became inside of me.
It was for them
that I sang it for.
So I became a true
American, you know?
I felt proud to be an American.
I felt proud that I was
a part of this country.
And the land of the brave...
I said, I've gotta
release it as a single.
And we did, and it broke
every record of all time.
Still the greatest to ever
sing "Star-Spangled Banner."
When Whitney touched
something, it became hers.
And that's how it
was being her friend.
1991 was a huge
year for Whitney.
It was "The Star-Spangled
Banner" moment.
And then she started
filming "The Bodyguard."
But so many people thought
that's where she started acting.
It wasn't.
Hi!
One of Whitney's
first acting gigs was in 1985
on the Ricky Schroder
show "Silver Spoons."
- I'm playing myself.
- And I'm performing.
I'm doing a video at this club.
I find that it comes sort
of naturally, in a way,
I mean, being a performer.
Saving all my love for you
My main focus is my music
and my singing career.
But, um, this is something that
I would like and enjoy to do.
What do you
hope to get out of this?
I don't know.
I guess everybody
will see my face.
Woo!
She loved film, you know?
Movies. Loved movies.
And, uh, she loved old movies.
I don't wanna be a movie star.
Um, I just want to
try my hand at it.
Um, the one thing that is most
important to me about acting
and being on the screen
is that I am believable.
And that has to come across,
because if it
doesn't come across,
I ain't never gonna
do a movie again.
Yeah, yeah,
I got a film coming out.
Is this your first?
This is my first, yeah.
I mean, you haven't seen
me in any movies, have you?
Lately?
I got the thing
that you need
So the story behind "The
Bodyguard" is pretty incredible
because Kevin Costner called
Whitney directly and said,
you are the only person I can
envision playing this role.
And if you don't
accept this part,
we're not gonna make the movie.
A lot of questions about
that, the wisdom of doing it.
I thought that she was, like,
really worth it, you know?
In fact, we postponed
the movie for a year,
Which then set everybody...
You're waiting a year for
someone
that doesn't even
know how to act?
You know, I said, yeah,
we're gonna do that.
If I
I made her a promise.
I said, you will
not be embarrassed,
and you'll be very
proud of yourself
at the end of this movie.
And I...
Will always love you...
Kevin chose the song.
He said, Whitney, I'm
telling you, this song?
You're gonna love this song.
This song is beautiful.
Dolly wrote it.
My darling, you
I listened to it and I said,
you're absolutely right.
This is the song.
Memories
It was number one in the
'70s and again in the '80s,
but it did not have the
success that it's had
with Whitney Houston.
She called me one night.
It was really late.
And she said, sis,
you gotta hear this.
And I had no words after hearing
the songs from that soundtrack.
And I think in that moment,
I think she really realized
how beautiful her gift was.
She had no words.
I just knew it would take her to
another whole level of stardom.
And I...
We had some... some
kissing scenes.
We've had some, uh,
intimate scenes to do.
Kevin, he was like,
whatever makes you comfortable
is what we'll do, you know?
You know, so I was
like, all right,
well, don't put your tongue
in my mouth, first of all.
I did.
I've never felt
this safe before.
Over the years,
there were rumors
that Whitney turned down roles
in huge movies like "Dreamgirls"
and "A Star Is Born."
Think about that.
But it... it really felt like the
movies that she did say yes to
not only helped
her professionally,
but it... it really cemented
lifelong friendships
that she kept throughout.
I closed my
eyes and I... exhaled.
I liked that there was
finally gonna be a film
about African-American
women finally, you know?
We get to see how they
live, what they go through.
I believe in you and me
I believe that we will be
In the, uh,
meetings that we had,
we talked about Julia Roberts.
But Whitney made so much
sense for so many reasons.
Denzel cornered me and he said,
Whitney, you're
gonna do this movie.
And I said, well, why?
What is this, you know...
He said, it's a very
important movie.
It's about community.
It's about helping
the community.
It's about spirit of love
and hope and charity.
Plus, you know,
you can sing gospel.
I said, Denzel, you've
never heard me sing gospel.
He said, yeah, but
I've heard your mother.
I thought, boy, you know, you
know how to get me good, right?
Help is on the way
Yeah
Fol-de-rol and fiddly-dee
Fiddly, faddly, foddle
Who are you?
I'm your fairy
godmother, honey.
She called me and asked
me if I would be Cinderella.
It flatters me, really,
to have someone who... who...
Who loves me that much,
who listens to me.
She listened to me intently.
Sometimes I'm her mother.
Sometimes I'm her sister.
Sometimes I'm her friend.
Sometimes, you know,
I'm her fairy godmother.
There is music
In you...
Coming up...
Of course, we have to talk about
Whitney and Bobby Brown.
You know, people had
a lot of feelings
about that relationship.
And Whitney had
a lot of feelings
about people's feelings.
Sometimes I
read the tabloids and I go,
oh god, this is so awful.
They think that they
already know you, you know?
And they really don't.
He builds me up
Hi, Whitney,
how are you doing?
Hi, how are you doing?
Why do you think these things
keep getting hotter and hotter?
Because people are
hotter and hotter.
Yeah!
Everybody's talkin'
all this stuff about me
Whitney first met Bobby in 1989
at the Soul Train Awards.
She was very excited
about meeting Bobby.
Four months later,
Bobby showed up at her
26th birthday party.
And that's kind of when
everything just started.
Listen, Bobby
was the life of the party.
He always liked to
be front and center.
I mean, he was Bobby Brown.
Let's not forget how
big he was at that time.
Whitney, Whitney, Whitney.
Um, she invited me.
I'm having a great time.
Happy
Birthday
- I can tell you this...
- I love Bobby and Bobby loves me.
And we're the best of friends.
And, um, we're in love.
And, um, I'm happy and so is he.
Plans for
a wedding, confirm/deny?
Yeah, there's
gonna be a wedding.
You'll know it.
You'll know better when
it happens, I'm sure.
Enough said!
Whitney and
Bobby said I do in 1992.
And in those early years, those
two had so much fun together.
You know, I remember she and
Bobby going shopping together,
to shop for furniture.
You know, grocery shopping.
She loved going out to, um...
For breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Boy, do I remember.
Sometimes I'd get a call.
Um, Miss Pat?
Um, I think, uh,
Whitney and Bobby forgot
to pay their... their tab.
Can you come over?
And I'm like, no they didn't!
You know?
I'd have to go over
to the restaurant.
Bobby and I
aren't afraid to talk.
We're not afraid to
ask each other, what,
you want me to leave? You know?
You want me to go out the door
and leave you alone for a while?
Okay, honey, I'll be
right back, you know?
And everybody who said
what an interesting mismatch
relationship it was was...
Mm. Mm-hmm.
Lisa, they have no idea.
They don't know either he or I
to say that we are
mismatched, you know?
Not long after Whitney
and Bobby got married,
she revealed to the world
that she was expecting.
In a couple of months,
it's gonna come out,
and it's gonna be these hands
and this face and these feet.
And you're gonna go,
oh, that was you in me!
You know? It's exciting.
When she hears her
father's music, you know...
If she hears "Humpin' Around"?
It's over.
She's gonna be goin'
Humpin' around
- I love it.
- Loves it.
Ain't nobody
humpin' around
Ain't nobody
humpin' around
You know, it's interesting,
'cause life really
changed for Whitney
after she gave birth
to Bobbi Kristina.
She loved being a mom.
It was a beautiful thing to see,
how much she cared
and loved her.
It's a
different thing, you know?
Um, when you become a mother.
It changes your whole
perspective on life, you know?
You really don't
live for you anymore.
You're living for your children.
That was something that
she really wanted, a family.
And she wanted a strong
family, you know?
And so she was determined
not to allow the business
to stop that from happening.
She's a baby.
And she doesn't
deserve to be, um,
put into this mess, you know?
Uh, this press thing
and all that madness.
She doesn't deserve to
be followed, you know?
Or be taken pictures
of her all the time.
And I'm very, very
protective of her.
And I will fight you.
And I will tear your house
down brick by brick about her.
So, you know,
that's my... that's my...
That's my strength now.
Whitney's having a baby,
Whitney's having a baby
Bobby and Whitney
are having a baby
You know, Whitney was
so excited to be pregnant again.
Um, unfortunately she
ended up losing the baby.
That wasn't the first
miscarriage she had.
If you go back and you look
at one of my favorite photos
of she and I, I'm
holding her stomach.
But that baby didn't survive.
People don't realize exactly
what she experienced.
She lost a baby around
the time of "The Bodyguard."
There was a lot
going on around her,
but not enough privacy for her
to be able to be who she
needed to be, you know?
For her husband
and for her child.
Everyone was watching,
so how can you survive that when
you've got everybody in-involved
in your marriage and
your relationship?
Whitney and Bobby together,
it was one of the most
polarizing relationships
that we saw play
out in front of us.
I mean, they did face
a lot of criticism.
But Whitney stayed by him.
She stayed by him
through so much.
And I think the two of them
developed this us against
the world type of attitude.
Stay strong, baby.
I got your back.
The whole world
knows that the press
loves to be up in my
business, you know?
Like they really know.
It's like every day, every day,
Whitney, Bobby,
Whitney, Bobby...
You know, I was like,
you know, come on.
What do you think has been
the biggest price for fame
that you had to pay?
My privacy. My life.
I'm a mother.
And it's not a joke anymore.
Damn the jokes!
It's not funny.
She's seven today.
My baby, she's around
here somewhere.
She's seven and I
want her to stay four.
And she's seven.
I'm real proud of her.
She's a good girl.
You're the princess, huh?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
You're running the household?
Yeah, kind of.
Pretty much these days, yeah.
I need to sing.
I don't need a career.
It's wonderful that I have one,
and it's been very good to me.
I worked very hard at it.
But I need my family more
than I need a career.
That is the
greatest love of all.
That is the love
that is limitless.
That's why her and Krissy
were the way that they were.
That's who she knew saw
nothing but the best in her
and loved her unconditionally.
So Bobbi Kristina was, um,
about to start her
own singing career.
She wanted to follow in
her mother's footsteps.
You guys will be
hearing a lot from me,
you know, in the
next year or so.
So, look out for that.
I'm excited.
Um, Mom's excited.
We're all ready for it.
Bobbi Kristina, or
Krissy, would pass away
just three years after Whitney.
And tragically, she died
in a eerily similar way.
But before Whitney died, she
was optimistic about the future.
Still ahead...
There are new, untold stories
about Whitney's final days.
I'm at a good pace,
you know what I'm saying?
I'm at a good pace.
I... I want, um, healthy projects.
It was supposed to
be an exciting time.
I was looking
forward to spending
a lot more time with her.
She was ready to live.
So tell me why
Why does it
hurt so bad, baby?
Well, there's a bridge
And there's a river
That I still must cross
I'm... I'm at a good pace,
you know what I'm saying?
I'm not in any rush to be
a bigger star or anything.
I have nothing to prove.
She was ready to live.
Ready to love, ready
to start a new chapter.
And to get right
what wasn't right before.
She was talking about looking
at a place in Orange County
to be near the water.
For somebody to be looking
so forward to life,
I just didn't get it.
- I know
- I know
He watches,
thank you, Lord
Over me
The last time I spoke to Whitney
was the week that she passed.
I called her before she got on
the plane to go to California.
I was just calling
to check up on her.
Hey, Nip, you good?
I'm good, I'm good.
Are you good for real?
Yeah, I'm good.
She said, I'm on my
way to sing for Clive,
going to the Grammys.
I said, all right,
well, have a good trip
and I'll talk to you later.
And that was the last time.
Whitney's very last performance
was on stage with Kelly
Price in a small nightclub.
And it was completely unplanned.
I feel like that's kind
of a gift that God gave me,
because even if we
didn't know, he knew.
Um, and so it gave me
one last opportunity to share
a very intimate and
special moment with her.
She pushed me to sing to
my limit and didn't care.
, Whitney,
I love you so much for that.
You are a class act.
You are an icon.
I was having a Grammy
celebration party.
I had three
nominations that year.
And she called me and she said,
I'm gonna be there for you.
And I was like, yay!
So she was there,
and we had a ball.
I wasn't expecting
her to sing at all.
Um, she came up on the stage.
She made her way to the stage.
And she was like,
give me the microphone.
I would've never asked
her to take the stage.
I would've never stuck
the microphone in her face.
Everyone that was there
was performing that night.
And, uh, she started...
She took the microphone,
and she started to sing
"Yes, Jesus Loves Me."
Yes, Jesus loves me
Oh, yes
Whitney was raspy that night.
She was raspy that night.
Um, and she was well aware of
what was going on
with her voice.
She was working very hard in
that moment, during that time,
even here in Los Angeles
that week,
to do what was necessary to
get it back to where it was,
because music really was
at the center of her heart.
It was.
Tells, tells me so
Jesus loves me
For the Bible
It tells me
So
But more importantly,
when we were done,
when she grabbed me
and she embraced me,
she told me, Kelly, I love you.
I'm so proud of you.
You did it. You're doing it.
Um, you haven't let the jungle
of this business change you.
For a lot of people,
the 10 years...
it resonates.
But for me, it's
like 10 minutes.
It's like 10 days.
I can remember prepping
for the pre-Grammy show
and feeling like I'm
gonna make her proud.
She was in and out
of the rehearsals.
She kept touching my face and
just telling me... you got it.
Don't worry about it.
Doesn't matter who's watching.
You... you the greatest
of the great.
That was something she
used to always tell me.
She would always
tell me, like...
you forget who you are.
And that's a mistake
I always made.
Literally when it happened,
we had just seen each
other 30 hours before.
And when I think about it, I
think the moment I found out,
um, and how unbelievable it was.
I was praying it was
a cruel internet hoax.
Being in the hotel that night,
even after losing Whitney,
the only person I trusted
to even tell me what to do
or where to go was Miss Dionne.
And so when she
said, you stay here,
you're the only person I want
to keep Krissy, stay here,
that's what I did.
Gary had told me that Whitney
had wanted to talk to me.
This was a few days prior.
She asked me, Pat,
why do people judge me?
That was the first time
she'd really spoken
about being judged.
And I was struggling.
I was praying, like,
God, give me the words.
And I said,
only God can judge you
at his appointed time.
I'm just gonna stay out here
with her until we go back.
We can go back together.
And I didn't realize
that on that Monday,
I was taking her home.
But it was me and Gary
taking her home to Jersey,
taking her home to her mother.
Dionne was with us.
And we're all sitting
on that plane.
And she's in the
back of the plane.
And my heart went out to
both Gary and to Dionne.
The phone rang.
And Gary was screaming
and hollering
and all that kind of
business, you know, crying.
And I said,
what's wrong with you?
He couldn't tell me.
He was saying, ah, Nippy, Nippy.
Kept saying, Nippy, Nippy.
I said, what about her?
He said, they found her.
I said, what happened?
She dead?
He said, yes, Mama, she's dead.
Then my doorbell
rang after a while.
And I went to the door.
And, um, nobody was there.
And the doorbell rang again.
And I went back to the door.
There was no one there.
And I called down
to the concierge.
I said, somebody is
ringing my doorbell.
You know, I don't
know what's going on.
He said, I have
you on the screen.
He said, nobody's there.
And I said, well, maybe
she did come home.
No one ever knows
I sang a song at her
homegoing, at her funeral,
called, "Don't Cry for Me."
Don't cry for me
Don't shed a tear
And it was a song that I
recorded years before that,
but also a song that Whitney
used to sing in her show.
Don't cry...
For...
Me
It came from my heart.
And, um, I believe it would
have made her really happy.
I will never
leave your side
I remember Whitney's funeral.
I remember being in that church.
And it was such an
emotional day for everyone.
Tyler Perry,
who tried to preach the house
down that day, we were wrecked.
Kevin Costner, who I had no
idea was a preacher's kid,
snatched my heart in his hand.
So off you go, Whitney.
Off you go.
Escorted by an army of angels
to your Heavenly Father.
Probably the most
gripping moment for me
was when the service was over,
and the pallbearers
grabbed her casket.
And in sync, it was almost
like synchronized swimming,
it was so perfect.
Or maybe that's just
the way I saw it.
But they raised her
casket to start walking,
and they started playing
"I Will Always Love You."
And when they walked
past Mama Cissy,
she stepped out, and she
laid her hand on the casket,
and she just dropped her head.
I'm getting chills
thinking about it.
And... and my soul
just, like, it sunk.
It... it sunk in that moment.
It was real.
It was real at that moment.
And I...
Will always...
One thing that outshines
whatever was said in
any negative manner
is what she did.
I don't believe that the
tabloids destroyed the legacy
because it's written.
It's there.
You know, there are
moments where I feel,
towards the end of her life,
she had decided,
I'm gonna be me.
You get it how you get it.
Because I think that that
is what she always wanted.
It's not right,
but it's okay
I'm gonna make it...
No matter what,
she's always Whitney.
She's always gonna hold
the place that she holds
in history, in music,
hopefully in our hearts
and in our minds.
I'm every woman
It's all in me
The fact is
no voice has come close.
No one sacrificed
as much as she did.
There were multiple times
where she was self-sacrificing
for our entertainment.
You can't disrespect a
woman that gives that much.
You can't disgrace a woman
that's given that much.
And you can't change that
no one's touched who she is,
and what she was, and
how she sang ever since.
- Me.
- That's all I wanna be is me.
I can't emulate anyone's career,
because this is my
career, you know?
And I don't think that
anyone who will come,
you know, after me will be
able to emulate mine, you know?
Everybody has their
own, you know?
Basically this is me and
that's all I wanna be, is me.
You have been such
a great audience.
I hope that you've enjoyed me
as much as I have enjoyed you.
Yes, baby. Yeah, thank you.