Warning: This post contains major spoilers for Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is based on the true story of the iconic singer’s life and career. Directed by Kasi Lemmons from a screenplay by Anthony McCarten, I Wanna Dance with Somebody pulls from Whitney Houston’s real life, though there are a number of elements that are not expanded upon.
Houston, who was dubbed “The Voice,” is one of the most successful female artists of all time, having broken records and sold more than 200 million records globally over the course of her career. To date, there have been five portrayals of Whitney Houston across documentaries and feature films. Biopics, while based in truth, can only include so much and sometimes exaggerate certain aspects of a musician’s life to make a point. The Whitney Houston biopic offers a glimpse into the celebrated singer’s life and rise to fame, but there’s more to the story the film leaves out, and questions that come up after watching certain scenes unfold in I Wanna Dance with Somebody.
Was Whitney Houston Bisexual? Robyn Crawford Relationship Explained
I Wanna Dance with Somebody focuses briefly on the romantic relationship between Whitney Houston and Robyn Crawford, who goes on to become her creative director. In reality, Crawford confirmed the pair did have an intimate relationship in her memoir, A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston, though Crawford told People she and Houston didn’t discuss putting labels on their relationship or on each other. Crawford and Houston’s romantic relationship only lasted two years, and they lived together. However, Houston decided to end things between her and Crawford out of fear of what people would say and how it would affect their lives, especially after landing a record deal.
Crawford and the award-winning singer may have parted ways romantically, but the pair remained best friends, as is documented by I Wanna Dance with Somebody, for more than two decades. Crawford, however, set boundaries between herself and Houston in the early 2000s because of the decisions Houston was making in her personal life — including her ongoing addiction to drugs. Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston’s ex-husband, also confirmed Crawford and the singer had a romantic relationship, and Brown claims Houston’s mother Cissy was against it and wanted to fire Crawford from her position as Houston’s assistant, her job before she became creative director and, later, co-manager of Houston’s company.
Did Whitney Houston Date Jermaine Jackson?
Whitney Houston allegedly dated Jermaine Jackson for a year, which is hinted at in I Wanna Dance with Somebody, and rumor has it the pair had an affair while Jackson was still married to his then-wife Hazel Gordy. While Jackson has never spoken up about their relationship, his sister La Toya Jackson claimed, during an appearance on The Talk, that her brother “admitted that they had an affair.” There are also claims that Whitney Houston’s song “Saving All My Love for You” was about Jermaine Jackson, though that was never been confirmed. What’s more, Houston was reportedly infatuated with Eddie Murphy in the late 1980s, though he did not reciprocate according to Crawford.
Did Bobby Brown Abuse Whitney Houston?
Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston’s romantic relationship was turbulent and often made headlines, especially in their final years of marriage. I Wanna Dance with Somebody alleges Bobby Brown was abusive towards Whitney Houston, and he confirmed in a 20/20 interview that he did hit Houston once. Brown denied the allegations that he was violent towards Houston beyond the admitted incident, but he did reveal that the last few years of their marriage were pretty awful.
Who Was Barbara Houston? What I Wanna Dance With Somebody Leaves Out
Barbara is glimpsed throughout the music biopic, and one can feel the iciness and distance between Whitney and Barbara. Their relationship in real life was just as tense. Barbara Houston, who is 40 years younger than John Houston, ultimately married him, though the pair were having an affair that allegedly began while John was still married to Houston’s mother Cissy. What I Wanna Dance with Somebody leaves out is the lawsuit Barbara filed against Whitney, which alleged the singer was the sole beneficiary of John Houston’s life insurance, and that the money would be used to pay off Barbara and John’s mortgage, with the remaining money turned over to Barbara.
However, Whitney Houston filed a counterclaim against her stepmother, claiming the life insurance was to pay the singer back for the money her father borrowed from her years prior. In 2010, a judge ruled in favor of Houston, giving her ownership of Barbara’s mortgage, which meant she could decide to foreclose on the house and leave her stepmother with nothing. The relationship between Whitney Houston and Barbara Houston was not good, and the ugly lawsuit made the singer’s disdain for her father’s wife quite public.
What Really Happened Between Whitney Houston & Her Father?
The relationship between Whitney Houston and her father was complicated. John Houston became the singer’s manager and CEO of her company, and I Wanna Dance with Somebody alleges Houston also borrowed money from his daughter, which was seemingly one of the things that led to their relationship turning sour over time. John Houston reportedly borrowed $723,000 from Whitney Houston in 1990, but it was the $100 million lawsuit he filed against the celebrated singer in 2002 for breach of contract that really highlighted their tumultuous relationship.
The lawsuit claimed that Whitney Houston did not pay John or his company for the services they provided her, such as helping her in a legal capacity after being caught with drugs in Hawaii and negotiating the terms of her $100 million contract with Arista Records. John Houston even tried appealing to his daughter on television. The Houston patriarch died shortly after, in 2002, and the lawsuit was thrown out in 2004.
How Did Whitney Houston Die?
I Wanna Dance with Somebody avoids showing the singer’s tragic death. However, the Whitney Houston biopic does allude to the singer’s death, which occurred several hours ahead of music producer Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party. Whitney Houston died of accidental drowning in the bathtub of her hotel room at the Beverly Hilton. An autopsy report claimed the effects of “atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use” also contributed to the singer-actress’ accidental drowning. Houston had a history of cocaine use, and white powder was found on her bathroom counter, suggesting the singer used the substance before her bath.
Rather than focusing on her death and its contributing factors, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody celebrates the iconic singer’s voice at the height of her career by choosing to center the film’s final scene on Whitney Houston’s performance at the 1994 American Music Awards. This decision pulls back from the tragedy of her death, as well as Houston’s tumultuous final years, and serves as a reminder of what a powerful, beautiful voice she had and the joy she brought others when using her tremendous talent. Audiences walk away from I Wanna Dance with Somebody with a bright moment in Whitney Houston’s life instead of the dark one of her death.