Whitney Houston’s estate has disputed Oprah Winfrey’s claims that the singer was high on drugs when she took a tumble off the stage during her appearance on Winfrey’s show in 2009. Houston, who died of accidental drowning in February 2012, has a detailed history of drug use, and the coroner’s report showed her death was “complicated by chronic cocaine use and heart disease.”
Oprah Winfrey appeared for an interview at the Cannes Lions held in the Lumière Theatre at the Palais des Festivals on June 23, where she was set to receive the 2026 Cannes LionHeart. During her conversation with Phil Thomas, the chairman of the Festival of Creativity, Winfrey spoke about Whitney Houston and her 2009 interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show while discussing her audience, claiming that Houston “had gone back to drugs” while she appeared for the interview.
Winfrey recalled that she begged the audience not to post photos of Whitney Houston’s fall from the stage as they could potentially ruin her life, adding:
“Whitney did what I think was her last show with us, and she had gone back on drugs. The first interview I did with her … she was clean, but the day she came to my show to perform in front of the audience, she was not, and she fell off of the stage. I knew that if that story got out that she’d fallen off the stage, she would be destroyed by that, and so even though the audience was there and the audience had cameras, I begged them not to put those pictures out because it would ruin her life, and they did not.”
Whitney Houston’s estate immediately disputed Winfrey‘s remarks in an Instagram statement posted to her account. The statement admitted that while Houston did fall off the stage during the show, she was allegedly not on drugs, adding that her fall stemmed from “the darkness of the area and her unfamiliarity with the stage.”
The estate also acknowledged that while Whitney Houston faced “personal battles,” it was “inaccurate and unfair to attach that struggle to every performance or every chapter of her life.”
“From the 2009 interview on the Oprah Winfrey show, Whitney absolutely fell off stage, but it was during a sound check and it was due to the darkness of the area and her unfamiliarity with the stage. She was absolutely not high. This story was picked up by several media outlets. Like many people, she faced personal battles, but it is inaccurate and unfair to attach that struggle to every performance or every chapter of her life,” the statement read.
The statement added that the studio audience witnessed “the result of discipline, talent, and commitment,” adding that Whitney Houston showed up to the set that day as “the professional and gifted artist she always worked to be.” It concluded by adding, “We owe her the dignity of telling the truth not repeating myths.”
Whitney Houston’s bodyguard corroborated her estate’s statement
Ray Watson, Whitney Houston’s bodyguard who was with her at the time of the fall in 2009, corroborated her estate’s statement denouncing Oprah Winfrey’s remarks about the singer being on drugs at her show. Speaking to TMZ’s Charlie Neff on June 25, Watson insisted that Houston was not on drugs at the time of the incident and her fall was because of her limited visibility on stage, saying:
“I can’t remember exactly when she fell, but she was coming towards the front of the stage, and it’s a drop off, and it’s sort of like a dark spot there. And so when she got to the edge, I think somebody told her, ‘Watch it, be careful, watch it.’ And then she went down. We got to her, but she got up. Matter of fact, she made fun about it.”
Watson also said he was in the “media room,” which was not too far from where she fell. He added that his immediate reaction was “damn,” saying he felt responsible in a way, but ultimately said, “Thank God she was okay.” When questioned about whether he believed Whitney Houston had addictions at that time period, he claimed he had never seen the singer get high.
Ray Watson also said he did not believe Winfrey’s claims that Whitney Houston was high at the time, saying the singer was simply not aware of the stage, which caused her to stumble and fall. He also added that from Winfrey’s point of view, she might have thought Houston was high, but the bodyguard knew that she was not high, saying he would have known if she was on drugs.
When asked whether Oprah Winfrey should apologize to Houston’s fans and family, he said the talk show host should apologize “only if she feel that way” and only if she meant it. He also added that Whitney Houston was not here to rebuff the claims and asked why Winfrey waited so long to come out and say her version of events, pointing out that Houston had been dead for years and could not defend herself.
Ray Watson also called Whitney Houston a sister, a boss, and a principal, adding that he tried to accommodate her in every way he could to help her and talk to her.
Oprah Winfrey has yet to respond to the statement from Whitney Houston’s estate as of this article.
Edited by Juhi Marzia
