Whitney Houston is dead and the money making has begun. The people close to her–just like those “close” to Michael Jackson– are selling their wares to the highest bidders. This accounts for the constant and incorrect stories appearing on TMZ, Radar Online, The National Enquirer, and the syndicated “entertainment” shows. And let’s not forget the networks, which “license” footage–another way of saying “paying for an interview.”
Anyone who knew Whitney or was related to her will try now to make some quick cash and become an “expert” on her leading up to her funeral. Kudos to Cissy Houston and Dionne Warwick for smartly putting the funeral in a small church, with no big public fiesta. The Jacksons, lest we forget, staged a memorial at the Staples Center, then held a big reception. It took them six more weeks to have an actual “funeral” that was televised.
But that doesn’t mean that Whitney doesn’t have her vultures. She supported a lot of people for a long time financially. Now they will panic. The gravy train has come to its last stop. Since Saturday, the tabloid websites have run conflicting stories, claiming one thing, then claiming the opposite. My favorite lately is TMZ’s assertion that the suite where Whitney died was already being rented out at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. They also claimed to have a picture of the bathtub “minutes” after Whitney died in it. Believe not a word on these websites. All the info is coming from “insiders” for cash.
One insider told me tonight he had 248 messages from media outlets. Another is being stalked by paparazzi. I feel terrible for the people at that New Hope Baptist Church. They’re going to have a lot of trouble on their hands the day of that funeral. After all, “ET”–the grossest of all the TV shows–has already run a picture of “Whitney’s body bag.” You can only imagine what’s next on their agenda.
