Home Pop Culture Why we can’t just put the diva away yet..?

Why we can’t just put the diva away yet..?

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Whitney Houston diva
Whitney Houston diva and the media that can't get enough of her.
Whitney Houston diva
Whitney Houston diva.

Whitney Houston diva and the media that can’t get enough of her. More questions and a public seeking more answers about their idol.

With the recent passing of Whitney Houston it had seemed at least to this author that we had with Saturday’s epic funeral service found closure with the orgasmic media coverage and our collective grieving. It seemed that final image of Whitney would be that of all wailing dignitaries and honored guests. But even that in retrospect was too much to wish for. Instead we received news that Bobby, Whitney’s ex went gambling later that evening whilst her daughter Bobbi was holed up in some hotel room seriously doing her head inand now this final calamity- the ubiquitous image of a forlorn Whitney Houston extinct and lifeless withering away in front of us in a casket. An open casket of course.

Who was also betrayed and perhaps not betrayed were a sampling of readers, whose comments I plucked from a cursory of websites which I think sum up the collective capitulation that we all feel and our collective desire to put Ms Whitney Houston to rest for once and for all.

Whitney Houston diva: Why the obsession? No matter what you think of the National Enquirer’s decision to release the image, it has in the end served to invigorate a thoughtful debate. See what you think….a sampling of readers from a variety of gossip sites on the web as well the Talk’s reaction below.

Cruel,Insensitive and just down right evil! Her family would have had an open casket if they wanted the whole world gawking at poor Whitney.This is a sick world and the fact that a human being would actually benefit from this makes me ill .Did you not see the pain on her loved ones faces.Karma is a bitch and it’s coming.

Tacky as always. I cannot believe that people actually pay money for this trash paper. They have zero respect for peoples lives and how they will feel if they see these tasteless photos. Everyone should boycot the paper so maybe they will get the message.

sophie, belfast, 23/02/2012 18:18 I’m guessing that from your judgemental and insensitive comments that you have never lost anyone. Let me tell you everyone deals with death of a loved one in different ways and you should respect that and let her get whatever she needs to out of her system. Don’t bother commenting if your just going to be nasty.

Why this obsession with this woman. She was a great agent, but wasted her life away knowing full well what she was doing

I don’t get what tis big deal is, I’m sure years ago when a superstar died a picture like this would be on the covers of newpapers and magazines.

If you don’t like it, don’t buy it, simples.

Get over it, they sure want their face splashed all over when they are alive, dead is No different. what is wrong with these people, they just want attention. She is dead by her own choice, she had no problem with pictures when she was all messed up and alive.

What is completely morbid is America’s vision on death.And even more so, giving it so much attention and horrible opinions about it makes it just as bad as they are. You like so many others think of death as a grotesque thing when in fact, death is beautiful. And even more so, giving it so much attention and horrible opinions about it makes it just as bad as they are. The picture itself was taken in poor taste because it is being exploited in this ridiculous tabloid news cover. Whoever took it should have respected the families wishes. But the picture itself is beautiful. She looks at peace and is beautiful even in death. There is nothing to be feared of a body. It’s just a shell that contains a persons’ soul. And FYI most funerals are open caskets. Please do the world a favor and get over it.

Its funny that this celebrity is on all the news…..one celebrity dies millions cry……young kids dies nobody crys except the family..and perez stop being fake ur the reason why celebrity hates people like you always bashing them making them feel stupid and ashamed. Ur faker then fake tittes first u bash micheal Jackson then u act like u care when he pass away now whiteny Houston? See was a dope fiend what did everybody expect?

Actually, this is nothing new, especially for the Enquirer. I am old enough to remember they had the “Last Photo of Elvis” in his casket on the cover in 1977. In my Italian American Catholic Culture, it is unthinkable and unheard of to take a photo of the deceased, but not everyone feels that way. I have had friends from other cutures who keep photographs of their loved ones in their coffins and display them. This shocked me at first, but the I realized they are proud of the fine send-off their loved ones had and find the pictures a comfort. And I must say, Whitney looks beautiful and at peace.

Americans are far too squeamish about death — which is really a part of life. We hide from it, hide it from our kids, do everything we can to avoid it.

I don’t have a problem with casket photos. Every single one of you is going to be in a similar situation, so here’s hoping you look as good as Whitney in your coffin.

..and Jezebel took the bait and printed it also, so what does that say? if you really feel so strongly don’t print the photo and pretend to be critical about people who print the photo.

The picture was takenn in the private viewing for family/close friends. So someone in there took it and sold it. That makes them just as disgusting and guilty.

Public figures do give up certain privacies, in fact they trade on it, at least in many instances, which makes this issue so tough.  Celebs both love the trumpeting of their every move (remeber the addage about there being no “bad” publicity?) and they hate it.  After all, who wants their every move recorded and shared?

The boundaries can be murky, but in this case, IF the family did not authorize the picture to be taken and shared, whether it was legal or not to do so, it’s pretty clearly unethical.  In this case, drawing the line has to do with respect for both a dead woman and her family, trumping the public’s hunger for false intimacy.

Celebrity obsession is not healthy, and watching/listening etc. is not a real friendship.  It can however, be a real relationship.  The difference being that it is one-sided, unlike a friendship which must be mutual. 

She was a much loved performer and her fans have a right to say goodbye. I don’t think this was disrespectful. It helps give closure to those that loved her.

Fans have “rights”?  That’s a new one!  From where do these so-called rights derive?  From the fact that they are fans?  that doesn’t give them rights.  At best it gives them a bargain in which they offer adulation and cash in exchange for entertainment.  I am pretty sure that it’s up to the entertainer to determine how much of themselves they want to share.  If the fans are dissatisfied, they can always take their money elsewhere.

where can i see ? i need closure

Whitney Houston’s wills estate: Bobbi Kristina: Gets all. Bobbi Brown: Not a penny.

Whitney Houston casket photo leads to Whoopi Goldberg being called a liar.

Whitney Houston coroner inundated with urgent messages to conduct murder investigation.

Heartbreaking: Oprah Winfrey and Bobbi Kristina hug.

Whitney Houston and Jermaine Jackson had secret affair. Michael Jackson was furious…

Whitney Houston casket photo leaker rumored to be Bobby Brown’s sister…Tina.

Breaking: Whitney Houston casket photo leaker identified.

Whitney Houston’s daughter to air live Sunday week with Oprah Winfrey. But don’t expect much…

It’s never a good idea to offend dead idols says Target.

Bobby Brown’s sister: My brother had nothing to do with Whitney doing drugs!

Whitney Houston’s heirs can kiss goodbye receiving her millions.

Man resigns after receiving death threats for posting that Whitney Houston was a dumb stupid nigger on facebook.

Cissy Houston calls off search for leaker. Rumored to know identity of leaker….

Whitney Houston funeral home director fears for her safety as hate mail continues unabated.

Outraged Cissy Houston demands funeral home employees take lie detector tests.

Who leaked Whitney’s photo? Funeral home: ‘It definitely wasn’t us!’

Finally what you have been waiting for: Whitney Houston’s casket photo.

Kelly Clarkson pays tribute to Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston: the human behind the celebrity

Bobby Brown rushes to a casino after Whitney’s funeral.

Bobbi Kristina Brown, known coke fiend now being urged to enter rehab.

Kevin Costner: ‘I should have saved Whitney!’

Was Whitney Houston’s greatest love a woman?

Bobby Brown storms out of Whitney’s funeral after scuffle ensues.

Whitney Houston’s funeral draws Hollywood’s biggest names.

Mourners dance in the streets as Whitney’s wake is held indoors.

Breaking: Whitney Houston memorial tribute for Saturday’s funeral leaked.

Revealed: Plastic surgeon refused to take Whitney Houston on because she failed medical

Was Whitney Houston a secret lesbian? Did self disgust fuel a drug binge?

Bobby Brown gives in and will not attend Whitney’s funeral despite earlier reports of crashing.

Revealed: aides rushed to get rid of Whitney’s coke stash before paramedics arrived.

Bobby Brown not invited to Whitney Houston’s funeral insists he’s going to crash it anyway.

Chaka Khan: “Whitney and I got high together.”

And this is a picture of the bathtub that Whitney Houston died in.

Whitney Houston: Doomed to self destruct, blew over $100 million on crack.

Whitney Houston’s daughter released from hospital after experiencing total meltdown.

GRAMMYS: Adele returns, Whitney remembered

New questions arise if Whitney Houston committed suicide.

BREAKING: Whitney Houston’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina, rushed to hospital

Last public photos of Whitney Houston shows her disheveled, disorientated and very agitated.

Theory emerges that Whitney Houston may have died due to prescription drugs

Kim Kardashian attends pre-Grammy party, disrespects Whitney

BREAKING: Whitney Houston has died

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47 COMMENTS

  1. “Ur faker then fake tittes first u bash micheal Jackson” <== but he deserved being bashed..he was a child molester and a child abuser..good effin riddance..R.I.P. Whitney ..i thought it was a private funeral..someone was perhaps in need of money 🙁

  2. I cant belive someone would take picture of her in the Casket It shows people would do any thing for money let whitney rest in peace she will never be forgoten.

  3. they should be in jail for this that was a private thing for family and friends but she looks very nice thats not right somebody can take her stuff off her neck

  4. It’s ok to see her in a drugged out stupor in endless pictures. It’s ok to see her failing on stage from those same drugs but if she is lying horizontally, it’s suddenly taboo. Her legacy was that she was an excellent performer who chose to destroy her career with drugs and alcohol. A picture of her in her casket doesn’t change that.

  5. Why the “banging on” about respected the dead/grieving family etc? The media doesn’t respect their privacy while they’re alive, so. . . Besides they’ve been doing this since cameras were invented. Google “pictures of Thelma Todd dead” (an American star from the 1930s). Hell ya can even see one of poor Thelma after her autopsy on the mortuary table. Nothing changes, folks. Deal with it & move on . . .

  6. This was a private ceremony… carried by two cable networks. I’m with those who say that she didn’t mind being that her picture was everywhere while she was big, didn’t mind being seen making a drug-addled ass of herself on Being Bobby Brown, didn’t mind appearing in her last days as a wasted desperate mess, and probably wouldn’t have minded that photo of herself looking positively gorgeous again in her casket. It’s tough for her fans to see her dead, but they and her family should be as relieved as all get out that the picture is such a beautiful one.

  7. This was a private ceremony… carried by two cable networks. I’m with those who say that she didn’t mind being that her picture was everywhere while she was big, didn’t mind being seen making a drug-addled ass of herself on Being Bobby Brown, didn’t mind appearing in her last days as a wasted desperate mess, and probably wouldn’t have minded that photo of herself looking positively gorgeous again in her casket. It’s tough for her fans to see her dead, but they and her family should be as relieved as all get out that the picture is such a beautiful one.

  8. Everything is for sale (to the highest bidder). I have some autopsy photos of Whitney and plan to put them on E.Bay. Be the first to bid on these priceless pictures of Whitney gutted like a fish and her head sawed open and her fried brain in a jar. A true collector’s item and a real party starter. Bobby, you cannot bid, you had no respect for her.

  9. One comment in this piece said “death is beautiful”. That is stupid and ignorant. It wasn’t very beautiful when my mother and father died. And I will worry about my kids until they can fend for themselves., What should be said is that it is pointless to fret and fuss about death. Enjoy your life while you have it.

  10. I always knew that The Enquirer was a rotten rag of a newspaper, and they prove it more and more. To put a picture of Whitney Houston on the front page is disgraceful. Obviously, the hags that work for this shit sheet have no consideration for her family, friends or fans. I blame The Enquirer and all the rag papers like it for making our society look like it does. They fan their flames on the adversity of others, especially celebrities, and in turn, make us the laughing stock of the world. I wish their would be laws enacted where these slimely papers wouldn’t be allowed to write the lies and to speculate about people without any proof. Of course, they always come back with the fifth amendment. That is one amendment that needs to be abolished in this day and age. At the time it was written, it was meant to do good, but these sleezeball editors, writers, photographers, etc., have taken it out of context and made it something for them to hide their lies behind. It’s disgusting. RIP Whitney. You look beautiful even in your coffin.

  11. my comment about the casket and the viewing is i love how they didnt do all that mess with micheal jackson-i dont believe anything of what the tabloids say-and the pics that we see of her and her casket,i dont believe is really her-whos really to say,they didnt get all elaborate like that with m.j-and you dont hear to much of whitney houston or see any photos of her wherever,only until she passes-anyone can make certain photos look however with whoever-but in reality its all what the coroners and autopsy doctors say is what it really is

  12. she literally looks better here than she did while alive in most of her photos. she looks like she is just sleeping peacefully. a lot better looking than most open caskets i have seen.

  13. so many celebrities who died had open caskets…it used to be more popular before to help the public fans realize the reality of the situation and not just for family. while i agree that this is distasteful in the least to do this without the family’s consent, I think she actually looks amazing. She looks like she is peacefully sleeping, and beautiful. If anything, she looks better than I thought she might look, so maybe it would have been a good idea for the family to show the world how beautiful and at peace she looks, even in death.

  14. it was a private ceremony. so the blame is on the person who took the photo and sold it.
    money is powerful. shame on the person who sold the photo. the publication is only doing what their job.

  15. I don’t understand why when celebrities dies everyone make a big deal about it and crap like this happens. Ok she was good at one time the lady is dead let her rest in peace and move on.Next they will be saving she is not really dead.

  16. What is the big deal? They don’t call it a VIEWING for nothing. Anyway, she looks very nice. Compliments to the embalmer.

  17. Well someone from the funeral home saw their way out of a 9-5 job and low wages. They made a pretty penny on our culture’s fasination and obession with celebrities. Sounds like a smart person to me. Saw a once in a lifetime opporutnuity and took it. It is what it is. Her spirit was already gone to a better place.

  18. If you are a star it is to be expected. Period. Her fans want to see her. She looks gorgeous in the death photo. Who cares. She looks the same. Move on.

  19. It really doesn’t matter who took the picture, but for the National Enquirer to publish it is classless, careless, and disrespectful of Whitney Houston’s legacy. Shame on you.

  20. I am sorry but I fail to see the big deal here,REALLY !! She looks very beautiful and so what,I am glad they got the picture.

  21. who do they think they are? no matter what the circumstances of Whitney’s Death are. i think its disgusting that these photos have been leaked!

    Shouldn’t we be remembering the late star for her remarkable work?

    Not the image of her laying in her coffin!

    utterly disgusting!

  22. who do they think they are? no matter what the circumstances of Whitney’s Death are. i think its disgusting that these photos have been leaked!

    Shouldn’t we be remembering the late star for her remarkable work?

    Not the image of her laying in her coffin!

    utterly disgusting!

  23. who do they think they are? no matter what the circumstances of Whitney’s Death are. i think its disgusting that these photos have been leaked!

    Shouldn’t we be remembering the late star for her remarkable work?

    Not the image of her laying in her coffin!

    utterly disgusting!

  24. who do they think they are? no matter what the circumstances of Whitney’s Death are. i think its disgusting that these photos have been leaked!

    Shouldn’t we be remembering the late star for her remarkable work?

    Not the image of her laying in her coffin!

    utterly disgusting!

  25. who do they think they are? no matter what the circumstances of Whitney’s Death are. i think its disgusting that these photos have been leaked!

    Shouldn’t we be remembering the late star for her remarkable work?

    Not the image of her laying in her coffin!

    utterly disgusting!

  26. I HAVE MIXED EMOTIONS OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE FAMILY, HOWEVER, CELEBRITIES LEAK PHOTOS, PARTICIPATE IN REALITY SHOWS INVITING THE PUBLIC INTO THEIR PRIVATE LIVES AND MAKE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. THEN, YOU ASK FOR THE PUBLIC TO STAY AWAY AT YOUR LEISURE. IT’S A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD.

  27. who cares?????? shes dead… so was her voice after all the drugs she had been on. I give her the respect of being one of the best however what do you expect when you deal with theese kind of people..just because she had money does not mean everyone around her did as well. if I had a chance I would have done the same

  28. who cares?????? shes dead… so was her voice after all the drugs she had been on. I give her the respect of being one of the best however what do you expect when you deal with theese kind of people..just because she had money does not mean everyone around her did as well. if I had a chance I would have done the same

  29. Why is it a big deal? We’re all supposed to buy her albums, watch her movies, mourn her death, but then no one is allowed to see her in a casket? REALLY??? It’s not like it was her autopsy pictures! Get over yourself, celebrities, you can’t have it both ways!

  30. Whose to say that Whitney’s own family did not do this for money. It would be
    easy to sit back and blame someone else…people may have to resort to this if
    they need the finances. You can’t rule this out people.

  31. so what, who cares. She didnt care enough to take care of herself, why should I be sad. There are thousands of people who end up the same way thru no fault of their own. She did it to herself,,,,sad, but so be it

  32. WHOEVER TOOK DIZ PICTURE & SOLD IT FOR CASH..U R NOT GOING TO HAVE A PEACE of MIND FOREVER. Show some respect STUPID National Inquirer. DISGRACEFUL, INSENSITIVE & ARROGANT. The family wants PRIVACY.

  33. Yes, clearly someone in the inner circle took it and sold it for money, however it should not have been published. Instead that persons name should be published! Animals! That is disrespectful, leave her to rest in peace.

  34. The National Enquirer published a photo of Elvis Presley in his casket.
    So this is nothing new for them.

    George Vreeland Hill

  35. Just plain sad……is it not enough heartache and pian for her family …….Let her Rest in peace without all the extra BS……… We all go thru life making mistakes …me you Whitney. We are all human and deserve a certain amount of respect but its obvious we all can’t grow up…and whomever took this photo and let it out for money Shame on you..

  36. Whitney had a beautiful singing voice, contributed to numerous charities. Had opportunities of a lifetime, however like so many before her she was given to addiction and lost it all.
    There are countless beautiful voices in the world, no one person has it all.
    Unfortunately she lost her vocals in the end and later her life.
    It amazes me how she was not heard of much in the last few years until her death and now she’s a superstar!

  37. someone who was at her PRIVATE wake took the photo and then SOLD it for big bucks instead of demonising the enquirer the person who was a trusted part of the inner clan shoulld be outed

  38. she was a icon and a public figure it is the publics right to see her and be able to say goodbye if that was when the fans wanted to do and if she didnt want that kind of stuff happening she should never have opted to be in the spoitlight in the first place when she decided to be in the spotlight then she gave up her private life for every thing there is a price unfortunately even in death as well but at least she looked beautiful and peaceful and i think she would have been proud of the way she looked

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