Who is Dee Dee Warwick? Whitney Houston's alleged abuser revealed
- A new Whitney Houston film contains a tragic allegation about her adolescence
- Whitney Houston's brother claims the singer was abused by a cousin growing up
- He also said in the film that he was abused by the same family member as a child
- Documentary filmmakers apparently confirmed Gary's claims with other sources
A tragic new story has emerged about Whitney Houston's childhood.
According to IndieWire, in a not-yet released documentary created by Scottish filmmaker Kevin MacDonald, the singer's half-brother Gary Houston alleges that his sister was abused by their cousin Dee Dee Warwick growing up.
Gary also claims in the film that he was a victim of Dee Dee's abuse.
A new documentary, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival, contains allegations that Whitney Houston was abused by cousin Dee Dee Warwick growing up
MacDonald and his team reportedly questioned other sources close to Whitney, 48 when she died, and Gary's claims check out.
The filmmaker previously discussed the allegations in an interview with Vanity Fair.
'There was something very disturbed about her, because she was never comfortable in her own skin,' he said of the late singer.
Macdonald continued: 'She seemed kind of asexual in a strange way. She was a beautiful woman, but she was never particularly sexy. I've seen and done some filming with people who have suffered childhood sexual abuse, and there was just something about her manner that was reminiscent to me of that sort of shrinking — a lack of comfort in her own physicality that felt, maybe that is what it was.'
He added that 'shortly after thinking that, someone did tell me off the record about being told by Whitney about being abused, and it being one of the central reasons behind her self-torture. It took a while for anyone to go on record about it, and eventually the family did.'
So what do we know about Whitney Houston's allege abuser, Dee Dee Warwick? Check it out.
Who is Dee Dee Warwick?
Dee Dee Warwick was born on September 25, 1945. Her real name was Delia Juanita Warrick.
She was born in Newark, New Jersey and had two sisters — Dionne Warwick and Cissy Houston. Dee Dee was Whitney Houston's cousin.
She was a soul and R&B singer. Dee Dee got her start singing in church and eventually started a gospel trio with Dionne and Cissy.
Dee Dee started a solo career in 1963. She's credited with recording the earliest version of the song You're No Good under Jubilee Records.
In 1964 she released a single called Don't Think My Baby's Coming Back.
She made her first TV appearance in 1965, appearing alongside Dionne on NBC's Hullbaloo to perform a gospel song called Children, Go Where I Send Thee.
Dee Dee signed a record deal of her own with Mercury Records that same year. Her biggest hit was released under the label in 1966. It was called I Want to Be With You and it appeared in the Broadway play Golden Boy.
Unfortunately Dee Dee struggled with drug addiction. She died aged 63 in 2008.
Dee Dee Warwick lesbian
Dee Dee Warwick is widely regarded as one of the first openly gay performers in the music business.
Speaking with the Telegraph, an anonymous family source claimed that Dee Dee was open about her sexuality in the industry, but not publicly.
'Dee Dee was openly lesbian in the music industry,' the source said. 'Not necessarily in public, but I don't think that was a secret in the music industry. And that was a detriment to her development also, because she didn't hide it within the music industry. She didn't.'
Whitney Houston abused
In the forthcoming documentary called Whitney, family members of Whitney Houston allege the singer was abused by cousin Dee Dee Warwick during her childhood.
Whitney's half-brother Gary Houston claims he, too, was a victim of Dee Dee's abuse.
The late musician's assistant Mary Jones, dubbed Aunt Mary by Whitney, also confirmed the allegations.
According to Essence, in the film Jones says the following: '[Houston] looked at me and said, "Mary, I was molested at a young age too. But it wasn't by a man — it was by a woman"
'She had tears in her eyes, She says, "Mommy don't know the things we went through." I said, "Have you ever told your mother?" She says, "No." I said, "Well, maybe you need to tell her."
'She said, "No, my mother would hurt somebody if I told her who it was." She just had tears rolling down her face, and I just hugged her. I said, "One day when you get the nerve, you need to tell your mother. It was lift the burden off you".'
Whitney Houston and Robyn Crawford
Kevin MacDonald's documentary also presents Whitney Houston's alleged bisexuality as fact.
In it, it's said the troubled recording artist had a relationship with a female partner, called Robyn Crawford, but it was a struggle for her.
Whitney reportedly wasn't able to maintain a relationship with Robyn because of the trauma she carried with her as a result of the alleged sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her cousin.
She also reportedly felt pressure from the public, which wouldn't allow her to fully commit to Robyn.
Whitney release date
Whitney is due to release on July 6, 2018 in the United States.
Whitney trailer
The most recent trailer for Whitney was released on May 16, 2018. It's been watched more than 200,000 times.
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