Pat Houston Says Family Wasn't Considered in 'Whitney' Film
Pat Houston, Whitney Houston's sister-in-law, recently wrote an open letter about the recent portrayal of the late singer on the small screen.
While the Lifetime Network premiere of the film "Whitney" attracted the most viewers ever in a Lifetime telecast, the late singer's family was far from happy with the Angela Bassett-directed movie. In an open letter posted on www. whitneyhouston.com, Pat questioned Bassett's decision to direct a film that premiered so close to Whitney's untimely death that took place Feb. 11, 2012.
In the open letter, Pat describes having to tell her daughter about the movie that may not portray the late singer in a light that the family desires to see. She also spoke about the emotional turmoil that the film took on the Houston family.
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"It is easy to turn a blind eye to other people if you're not careful. But the needs of Whitney's family matter. We have dealt with her every emotion from the day she was born until the day she died, which gives us absolute position and absolute authority as a family to feel the way we do about her legacy," Pat wrote. "We matter. We're still here."
Bassett acted alongside Whitney in the 1995 film, "Waiting to Exhale" and has been public about considering the late singer to be a friend. However, Pat seemed to have issues with the way the Houston family was treated during the filmmaking process.
"Why wasn't there a call to myself, Gary, Cissy or even her daughter? Why deny selected members of the family an advanced copy of the film," Pat wrote. "As we once again enter a season of bereavement and the strategic timing so close to the anniversary of Whitney's death, this is a disappointment that any of us who loved her could do without. This creative pursuit at the expense of the integrity of such an iconic woman, who is voiceless today, reeks of condemnation and deceit."
Whitney was vocal about her Christianity, and Pat leaned on one of her song lyrics to explain how the family is getting through the ordeal.
"God gave us a gift in Whitney and she gave us her best, despite what stories are told. We will wear a breastplate of armor for Whitney and that's what friends are for," Pat wrote. "In the spirit of Whitney's 'I Go To The Rock': 'On Christ the solid rock I stand ... all other ground is sinking sand.' Let's just be peaceful in all of this."
Bassett recently told The Christian Post why taking on the television film "Whitney" meant so much to her after working with the late singer on the movie "Waiting to Exhale" in the 1990s.
"I was transfixed by her grace, beauty, charm, generosity, her laughter," Bassett recalled when speaking to CP about Houston. "When this project came to me I had fear of the regret I would have if I said no. My intention was not to drag my sister down any further, but to celebrate what was good about her life and to show, in a tasteful way, that those were choices made."
