Last Days of a Diva: Whitney Houston and the Age of Celebrity Obsession

Who could have predicted the outpouring of emotion over the death of troubled singer Whitney Houston?

She is proving to be more popular in death than she ever was in life.

That is the truth and we must deal with it. This is not meant to disrespect her talent or her memory. But at the height of her own career she was never considered the equal of Aretha Franklin and has since been upstaged by Beyonce and a newer generation of performers. And yet, not since last year's death of Steve Jobs has the internet buzzed as it is today about the death of a public figure.

This attention is being devoted to the death of someone best known for her addiction to crack and her troubled marriage to a younger, equally out-of-control entertainer. Many of the articles speak of the 'tragedy' of her end and ask who could have predicted it. As if. The real question is how she managed to live so long given the demons that possessed her. So why the public manifestations of grief usually reserved for political saviors, geniuses and transcendent talents?

There is an element of 'there but for fortune go I,' in all this, though drug addiction is no longer the national scourge it once was.

A broader reading of the attention devoted to her death is to some degree a by-product of the internet age. We connect less and less in person so public events become a societal water cooler or general store around which we can gather electronically to share events that have touched our increasingly remote lives - electronically.

But perhaps more disturbing is that we show little of this empathy for those who have lost their jobs, health care and houses, problems about which we can actually do something. We mourn and remember a troubled talent because we are more comfortable embracing from afar that which does not touch us than those aspects of our society whose power and proximity we fear. JL

Iona Kirby reports in the Daily Mail:

Wild eyed, her hair in a mess, tragic Whitney Houston is pictured enjoying a raucous night in which she clashed with security staff and fans following a performance at a Hollywood Grammy party earlier this week.

But despite her dishevelled appearance no one would have guessed that just two days later she would be found dead in her hotel room. On Friday night the singer had been a guest at the Kelly Price & Friends Unplugged: For The Love Of R&B Grammy Party at Tru Hollywood and had even performed during the night. And while the cause of her tragic death at the age of just 48 is as yet unknown, it has been reported that the singer also ‘partied heavily’ last night.
A witness told Us Weekly at the time that she had appeared ‘wasted’ and ‘moody’ as she exited the night club late on Thursday night. The source said: ‘She reacted angrily to the security guards trying to get her into her car...and started cussing them out.’The observer went on to say that even though Whitney was stopping and signing autographs for fans, ‘she would get moody again in a split second.’ The source added: ‘It was sad because her fans noticed that she was really shaky as she left the venue. She definitely was not in control of herself.’

Dressed all in black, the I Will Always Love You singer appeared angry and agitated as she left the venue and looked like she had partied a little hard. Wearing a short black dress the star emerged with her hair messed up and gestured aggressively to the waiting photographers. The release of the photos showing the star’s erratic behaviour and dishevelled look sparked concern over the singer’s health. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Whitney had a run-in with former X Factor contestant Stacy Francis that evening, after Whitney failed to remember the aspiring singer after she once pulled her onstage during one of her concerts.

Whitney died at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she was staying in order to attend at perform at a pre-Grammys party hosted by Clive Davis.
According to TMZ, the star was seen with a large group of friends at the hotel bar on the eve of her death.

Sources told the website that the group were drinking and being loud.
And the website went on to allege that the singer and her friends stood out because of all the noise they were making, despite the fact that the hotel was abuzz with guests getting ready for the pre-Grammy festivities.

A spokesman for the local police department said that emergency services had been called to the hotel at 3.43 this afternoon, arriving minutes later. Officials rushed to the room on the fourth floor where she was staying as a guest, where they found security staff attempting to revive her.

Life-saving attempts were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at 3.55pm.
According to TMZ, police have sealed off the hotel room where Whitney died and will not be searching it until they have obtained a search warrant. The website reports that their primary interest is to establish whether or not drugs were present in the room. Whitney was spotted looking worse for wear on a night out with friends just two days before her death. A source told the website that Whitney was 'cordial at first' but the scene soon changed after Whitney's friend, R&B star Ray J, stepped in.

An eyewitness said: 'Whitney just got belligerent. Ray was trying to defend Stacy, telling Whitney, 'Stacy's family!', but Whitney was feeling crowded out and hands were raised.' The source added: 'You didn't know which way it could go there for a minute.' When contacted by The Hollywood Reporter following the alleged incident, Stacy said: 'I have the utmost respect for Whitney Houston and her talent.'

However Us Weekly reports that Whitney ‘was fine’ the following day as she conducted a sound-check to gear up for her performance at the pre-Grammys party. A source told the magazine: ‘She was present and ready...She had water to keep her vocals clear, and was trying to not smoke.’ She has previously battled an addiction to crack cocaine and admitted to taking drugs with Bobby Brown during their turbulent 14 years of marriage.