Is it wrong that when I’m watching this would-be serious video with Bobby Brown’s sister that all I can focus on are her sparkly eyes and glistening lips? She’s got some huge spider eyelashes going on too. Anyway Bobby Brown’s sister talked to Access Hollywood about how concerned she is for her niece, Bobby and Whitney’s daughter Bobbi Kristina. She also seems to think Whitney’s death was some kind of conspiracy. Unlike the family friend who previously spoke to Extra, “Aunt Dolly,” Bobbi Kristina’s real aunt seems like she’s in it for the paycheck and doesn’t give a rat’s ass about Bobbi. She wants Bobbi Kristina to know that she shouldn’t trust anyone, though, except for her dad, grandmother and herself of course. She also seems to think Whitney’s death was some kind of conspiracy, probably because she takes a cocktail of prescription drugs too and nothing’s happened to her yet. Here’s some of what she said, and you really have to watch it. She can hardly keep her eyes open, and it’s no wonder with all the crap she has spackled on them. In all seriousness she looks completely drugged out and wasted to me. Poor Bobbi Kristina.

Bobbi Kristina should not trust anyone
I want to say to Krissy that it’s very very very important that she does not trust anybody at this time, anybody except her father, her grandmother Sissy and myself. And I mean that.

Right now is the time to just really shut the door.

Bobby Brown is not to blame
Bobby [Brown] has nothing, nothing at all to do with Whitney’s death.

[Whitney's] father said he was tired of people talking about his son-in-law. He said Bobby had nothin’ to do with Whitney doing drugs in the past or whatever. Bobby had nothing to do with that.

Believes Whitney’s death was not an accident.
I believe Whitney’s death was not accidental. No.

My attorney has advised me not to get into that at all, but it’s very important to know, she did not pass away like that. No. If it’s the last thing I do I’m going to find out what truly happened to my sister.

This is not same sister who sold out Whitney to the Enquirer back in 2006 by taking photos of her bathroom strewn with drug paraphernalia. Here’s a picture of that lady, Tina Brown. That’s a different person. This is Leola Brown.

Leola’s lawyer also spoke and said “there are persons that possibly who would want to take advantage of Bobbi Kristina’s fragile state of mind.” He seemed sober enough, especially compared to Leola. What can I say except that Bobby Brown has relatives with drug problems who are talking to the press. Watch that video above and tell me this lady is sober by any stretch.

Whitney Houston in her coffin is still on the cover of The National Enquirer, on newsstands everywhere. The issue won’t be replaced until Thursday or Friday of this week. In the two stores that I’ve checked, The Enquirer has been moved behind the other tabloids so that the only thing visible is the headline. Several of you commented on the story that you saw the issue out and visible at a child’s eye level.

Well not only is this photo presumably devastating to Whitney’s family, it could seriously damage the business of the funeral home where it was taken. The owner of the facility where Whitney was interred, the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark, N.J., told The Daily News that the leak of the photo was “devastating” to her personally and to her longstanding family business. What’s more is that the owner swears that security guards were with Whitney’s body 24 hours a day up until the private family viewing. So someone in Whitney’s inner circle had to have taken and sold that photo. Despicable.

The respected owner of Whitney Houston’s funeral home said Friday she’s “devastated” a photo of the singer in her open casket appeared on the cover of the National Enquirer.

Carolyn Whigham wants fans to know her family-run business did not sell the now notorious image and that she’s “horrified” by accusations her close-knit staff is to blame, she told the Daily News.

“We did not take that photo. We did not sell the photo. We would never do something like that,” the second-generation CEO of the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark, N.J., said.

“Whitney was a friend,” she continued. “I’m the one who flew to Los Angeles and got Whitney from the coroner’s office. I did everything to protect her.”

She said a deluge of distressing emails from irate Houston fans now has her fearing for her staff’s safety.

“One email said that if the person owned a dog, and the dog died, they would not come to my funeral home,” she said with sadness. “I’m worried about my employees, worried about me. I’ve been in business since 1943. This is my name, my character. Honestly, this is my life’s work. We would never do something like this.”

She said Houston’s family has made it clear they do not blame her business.

“I am very confident they are on the same page with me. Family friend Tyler Perry was on the Steve Harvey (radio) show this morning, and he said emphatically he knows we did not do it,” she told The News.

She said security was with Houston the entire time her body was at the funeral home.

“They were there 24 hours a day. They slept there with her. She was never alone, anywhere,” Whigham said. “The only time security fell back was when the family had the private viewing Friday. We weren’t involved with that. The family invited its own guests.”

[From The NY Daily News]

Several of you who work in the funeral industry commented on this story last week and we’re grateful to you for your insight, particularly to MorticiansDoItDeader and another commenter who just used an ellipses as a handle. Morticians said that the funeral home should have asked visitors to surrender their cellphones as a precaution given the high profile person interred there. She also noted that the embalmers did a good job with Whitney.

There was also the issue of Whitney being buried in 1/2 million worth of jewelry, which Morticians and many of you considered irresponsible by the Enquirer to put out there, as it could invite grave robbers. Morticians noted that it’s not likely Whitney will be buried in that jewelry. “We take that off when everyone leaves and give it back to the family after the service.” The owner of the funeral home said basically the same thing to The Daily News about the jewelry. “That’s crazy. It’s not true.” Poor Whitney and poor Bobbi Kristina. I hope she’s ok, but I’m glad we haven’t heard much about her. Hopefully her family is around her at this time.

Let me get this out of the way at the start, as the title can sound misleading. This isn’t some nefarious plot by Ray-J to cash in on Whitney post-mortem. Apparently he’s genuinely heartbroken over her death and is unsure if he’ll continue to pursue plans for a reality show, which would include footage of the two of them together. (Remember he did issue a very sad statement after she passed.) Ray-J was pitching a reality show prior to Whitney’s death, and part of that included using his relationship with the famous singer to make his show seem more interesting. In light of this, some are questioning whether Ray J was using Whitney in the months leading up to her death. The Daily Beast has an article about Ray J and Whitney’s relationship and how it came about. They mention that Ray J was sweet and charming with Whitney, but that he wasn’t faithful to her by any stretch. Whitney was allegedly aware of this and didn’t seem to mind. Here’s the part at the end of story questioning whether Ray had ulterior motives for getting with Whitney in the months leading up to her death:

But others are less kind about his motives. One source points to how—just like Brown—Ray J was trying to pitch a reality TV series with him and Houston. “He was just using her like many people did, to get a deal,” the source says.

In an exclusive statement to The Daily Beast, Ray J’s publicist Courtney Barnes says: “It was his show, and they shot footage of the two of them together that appeared in the sizzle reel, which was being used to pitch the show.”

Those who know Ray J say he’s always been a hard worker when it comes to his career. He’s released five albums on independent music labels and promoted them heavily, even when it wasn’t easy. “He’s extremely dedicated to his craft,” says Paula Tuggey, a music executive who has worked on his recent albums. “I can book him from 7 a.m. until midnight. He’ll do anything that he can to get his music out there to be heard.”

On the night of Houston’s death, Ray J was in San Diego.

Steffans [one of Ray's former lovers] says she reached out to him out of concern. “I don’t think Ray is OK,” she says. “I don’t think any of us would be OK. I think Ray is going to be traumatized forever.”

“He hasn’t talked to anybody yet. He’s not ready yet,” his publicist says. Asked if he’s still shopping the reality show that includes footage of Houston, his publicist emailed back, “I don’t know.”

[From The Daily Beast]

Ray J had a dating reality show on VH1 called “For The Love of Ray J,” which aired for two seasons in 2009 and 2010. He also had a two season reality show with his sister, Brandy, called “Brandy and Ray J: A Family Business,” in 2010 and 2011. So it just seems expected that he would be pitching another reality show to try and keep the money flowing. I don’t think it means he was using Whitney. It’s not like he just met her. He first hooked up with her way back in early 2007 when she was divorcing Bobby Brown, according to a source quoted on The Daily Beast. The two were even seen out on a date together as early as January, 2007, I remember covering that. So I believe that Ray cared for Whitney in his way and that he’s probably devastated to lose her. I wouldn’t put it past him to make sure that his reality show makes it to air, and to use Whitney to continue to promote it, whether its disrespectful to Whitney’s memory or not. After all, he made sure that his sex tape with Kim Kardashian got released. He probably planned out the whole thing from start to uh, finish, and we know that Kim’s career was launched from it.

Ray J and Whitney are shown out together in July, 2008. Credit: PRJ/Fame Pictures

This is a version in which I’ve blurred over the photo. In the version on newsstands, Whitney’s full face is shown. She’s made up and looks like she’s sleeping

I still remember when OK! Magazine featured a cover photo of Michael Jackson after he’d died. It was sad and unnecessary, and many people found it both disrespectful to the family and to Michael’s memory. That’s how I feel about this Enquirer cover photo of Whitney Houston’s open casket. This will be featured on the issue that’s about to hit newsstands today, and it makes me wonder: will it have a “family shield” to cover up this image of a dead person? My son is at an age where he can understand death, but when he was younger he had no concept of it and I wouldn’t want to have to explain it to the little guy in a supermarket checkout line. I’d rather my kid see some T&A (and he can see two daddies or mommies any day) than a dead person staring out at him. It’s not the image so much as the questions and sadness it brings up.

Last week The National Enquirer seemed to have stooped to a new low when they published photos inside the magazine that recreated Whitney’s death scene. They even had a photo on the cover that looked like Whitney laying dead face down on the bathroom floor. (Really! Here’s that cover above, thanks to Sammie.) That picture was captioned “Photo Re-Created” below in smallish lettering, but larger font screamed that they had “Exclusive Crime Scene Photos.” Well they didn’t have to use a fake Whitney to recreate the poor lady dead in her casket, since someone at a private open casket viewing scored a payday by snapping a photo and selling it to the tabloids. Here’s more:

Whitney Houston fans expressed shock and outrage Wednesday after the National Enquirer printed an image of the iconic singer in an open casket on its cover.

The morbid photo, purportedly taken inside the family’s private viewing at the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark, N.J., last Friday, shows Houston’s body lying in her half-opened, polished bronze casket.

It shows the dead pop star wearing what looks like a purple dress along with a brooch pinned to her chest and an earing sparkling in her ear.

The headline claims she was buried wearing $500,000 worth of jewels and gold slippers on her feet.

Facebook and Twitter users lashed out at the tabloid, calling the move trashy and shameful.

“MADD at who ever sold Whitney Houston’s pic of her in a casket,” reality star Evelyn Lozada, from VH1′s “Basketball Wives,” wrote on Twitter.

“Whoever sold the photo of Whitney Houston in her coffin to the National Enquirer is a vile, twisted, evil and unscrupulous sub-human,” London-based fan Christiana Mbakwe tweeted.

Even celebrity blogger Perez Hilton called it a “tasteless, insensitive, morbid thing to do” on his eponymous website.

Of course, the death photo is hardly without precedent. The National Enquirer famously ran a photo of Elvis in his coffin in 1977.

[From The NY Daily News]

In 2007, The Enquirer ran a “photo recreation” of a deceased Anna Nicole Smith in a body bag after her death. We covered that, and some outlets claimed that the photos were really of Anna after her death. At least one paparazzi agency did claim to have photos of Anna’s corpse, which lent credence to the stories that it was really her.

Let’s play devil’s advocate for a moment: Whitney looks pretty in that photo in her casket, she appears at peace, and some may say that she lived in the public eye so it’s fitting that this photo be published. That reasoning doesn’t account for all the people and loved ones she left behind, particularly her 18 year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina. Bobbi is already going through the worst time of her life, how is this going to affect her to have to see her deceased mom on a tabloid cover? That’s just ridiculously mean. My heart has been sinking the whole time I’m writing this, because I’m imagining seeing a loved one in their casket before going through the awful process of attending their burial. We have open casket viewings to provide closure to family and loved ones, the dead person is not meant to be publicly gawked at.

I deliberately didn’t include a link to the photo. It’s all over the place though and if you have even moderate Google skill you can easily find it. Hell, just go to the store on Friday and it will probably be there already.

Kaiser and I have been frankly appalled at some of the coverage of Whitney Houston’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina, following her mother’s untimely death. Tabloids are pointing out that she’s been looking drugged-out, and that she was “wasted” at Whitney’s funeral. The consensus among a lot of people is that the poor girl’s mom just died and she deserves some compassion. I think it’s fine to report the facts, that she was understandably upset after her mom died (who wouldn’t be, my God) and that she passed out in a tub at the same hotel prior to when her mother was found to have died under sadly similar circumstances. To speculate on her drug use while she’s grieving, or to even report on it using solid sources, just seems to go too far. Even when it’s couched in concern, like this comparatively mild story in US Weekly, it bothers me. They do an ok job at sounding sympathetic, but I want Bobbi to have some privacy at this very sad and heartbreaking time for her. Here’s US‘ coverage, and they’re not the source we’re really talking about when we pose this question.

Prayers for Bobbi Kristina.

As the only child of the late Whitney Houston and Bobbi Brown reels from her mother’s sudden Feb. 11 death, her family members — including maternal grandmother Cissy Houston and cousin Dionne Warwick– are gravely concerned for the 18-year-old aspiring singer.

Multiple sources tell the new Us Weekly that the aspiring singer — who watched both of her parents struggle with substance abuse — has turned to drugs, and her loved ones are urging her to go to rehab.

“Whitney’s passing is sending Bobbi off the deep end,” one insider says, adding that her family is “shocked” by the scope of her issues.

“Bobbi’s problems are out of control,” the insider notes.

[From US Weekly]

I’m in my late 30s. If my mom died now I would be a total wreck and would probably go “off the deep end” too. I wouldn’t do drugs, but I would probably drink too much for a while. If my mom died when I was all of 18 I would have been on whatever anyone handed me. I don’t think it’s fair to report Bobbi Kristina’s issues or to scrutinize what she’s doing.

That said, I hope Bobbi gets to rehab if she needs it, but she needs friend and family around her at this terrible time, and rehab may be too isolating. A friend of the family, “Aunt Dolly” was on Extra! and she revealed that “the family is looking after” Bobbi and that “everybody is really around her, lifting her spirits up. Talking about her mom, and how much her mom loved her.” Just hearing that breaks my heart. Aunt Dolly also said that Bobbi “will have a chance to be around her cousins. To be around Cissy [her grandmother] more.”

Here’s one of my favorite comments on US Weekly:

This young lady has suffered an insurmountable loss … and worst yet, she has had to endure this tragedy under the microscope of the media. The best thing that you can do is not assume that demons are making their way into her life … let her mourn the loss of her beloved mother and grieve. None of us knows what it is like to be the child of a celebrity and then have to share ever waking moment of your existence with the world watching. Leave Bobbi Kristina alone because at the rate that the media/press is going, you’re going to push her down that path of destruction just for the sake of escaping you!

[From commenter Kimberly]

Whitney Houston’s funeral was held yesterday. Even though the family said that they wanted a smaller, more private service, they still allowed cameras into New Hope Baptist Church, and several outlets (including CNN) did wall-to-wall coverage of the event. Guests/mourners at the event included Houston’s family, Mariah Carey, Kevin Costner, Tyler Perry, Alicia Keys, Clive Davis, Stevie Wonder, Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton. Here’s some information about everything that went down:

*Bobbi Kristina sat with her grandmother, Cissy Houston, in the front row of the church. Sources say both Cissy and Bobbi Kristina were very emotional. People Mag reports that Bobbi “broke down.” Come on, guys. That’s her mom. Let her grieve.

*Bobby Brown came to the funeral with an entourage of nine people, and allegedly “demanded” that he and everyone he brought be given front-row seats. Media outlets claim that Bobby was allowed in, but not his entourage, so “He was allowed to go in, pay his respects and then he had to leave. He was red-eyed going up to the casket and then left. He was there for 15 minutes.” And then he left with his entourage. A source tells Us Weekly that Whitney’s family is still pretty pissed off at Bobby: “There are family members who felt Bobby drove Whitney into drugs. But now Bobby is clean and Whitney has unfortunately passed. So there’s resentment.”

*But! After Bobby left the funeral, he gave a statement: “My children and I were invited to the funeral of my ex-wife Whitney Houston,” he said, referring to his three kids from previous relationships Landon, 26, La’princia, 11, Robert Jr., 10, plus Cassius, his two-year-old with wife Alicia Etheridge. “We were seated by security and then subsequently asked to move on three separate occasions. I fail to understand why security treated my family this way and continue to ask us and no one else to move. Security then prevented me from attempting to see my daughter Bobbi Kristina. In light of the events, I gave a kiss to the casket of my ex-wife and departed as I refused to create a scene. My children are completely distraught over the events. This was a day to honor Whitney. I doubt Whitney would have wanted this to occur. I will continue to pay my respects to my ex-wife the best way I know how.” Is it wrong that I actually agree with him? Whitney would have wanted Bobby to be there for the whole thing, I think.

*Kevin Costner spoke at the funeral. He talked about how The Bodyguard got made and how Whitney was cast and all of that. He also said, “To you, Bobbi Kristina, and to all those young girls who are dreaming that dream, thinking that maybe they aren’t good enough, I think Whitney would tell you, guard your bodies. And guard the precious miracle of your own life. Then sing your hearts out.” In closing, he got choked up and said, “Off you go Whitney, off you go. Escorted by an army of angels to your heavenly Father. When you sing before him, don’t you worry. You’ll be good enough.”

*Whitney’s casket was carried out to “I Will Always Love You”. That casket was super-shiny, right? It almost glittered.

And that’s about it. I’m sure I forgot to include a lot of stuff, but I’ll admit that I barely watched any of the coverage. It felt like everyone was trying to make this into another Michael Jackson-like “event” when Whitney’s family really wanted everything to be much more private. My guess is that Cissy Houston just figured that if she let media outlets have the live feed of the funeral, the media wouldn’t bother them. It was good to see Whitney’s life and accomplishments celebrated, though, and I truly hope Bobby Kristina and Whitney’s family and loved ones found some peace.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

Whenever a celebrity dies, we get an initial rush of stories and there’s lots of interest in all of the details of their last days and who we should blame and whether or not drugs were involved and all of that sordid stuff. But after the first rush, does anyone else lose interest? I’m still sad that Whitney Houston died, and I have an enormous amount of sympathy for her family, particularly for her daughter. But I also get to the point – very quickly – of “I just don’t want to know anything else about this situation.” It feels ghoulish and macabre very quickly.

So, with that in mind, let’s discuss Whitney Houston’s death some more. Whitney takes the cover of both Us Weekly and People Magazine this week – and I suspect Whitney will take more covers too. There’s not a ton of new information – here’s Us Weekly’s report:

It will be a solemn occasion this Saturday, when close friends and family gather at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey for the late Whitney Houston’s funeral.

At the request of her mother Cissy Houston, the Grammy winning singer — who developed her extraordinary vocal talents at the church — will be eulogized by gospel singer Marvin Winans. The brother of gospel star CeCe Winans (who dueted with Houston, 48 when she died, on the song “Count on Me”), Marvin officiated at the 1992 wedding of Houston and Bobby Brown at Houston’s $11 million estate in Mendham, NJ.

“She was able to leave us with so many wonderful memories of that God-given gift,” Pastor Joe Carter, who is leading the private, invitation-only service, told CNN. “That’s what we are celebrating on Saturday.”

New Hope Baptist Church seats 1,500 people. Carter said he expects “all these empty pews to be filled with people whose hearts are broken.” A public service planned at a local stadium in Houston’s honor has been cancelled at her family’s request.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says flags will fly at half-staff at government buildings all day Saturday.

Houston was found lifeless, partially submerged in a bathtub, in her room at the Beverly Hilton last Saturday. She was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. An investigation into her death is ongoing, though sources told TMZ the singer (who was frank about her struggles with substance abuse in the past) likely died from a lethal combination of prescription pills and alcohol.

[From Us Weekly]

It’s interesting that “the family” requested that the public memorial be cancelled. I’ve read that Whitney’s mom really wanted Whitney to be buried in Atlanta, which is where Whitney lived for many, many years (and where her mom still lives, I believe).

People Magazine has devoted their cover story to “the life of Whitney Houston” – which means more details about her early days, her start in gospel music, and her struggle with becoming “America’s Pop Princess”. A record executive told People: “She was in pain from living almost a double life. She wanted to be down with her community. That’s who she really was. But because of her career, she also had to portray this pure pop princess in gorgeous gowns, singing songs the white community adored.”

What else would you like to know? Whitney’s family is pissed off at Clive Davis for not canceling his pre-Grammy party on the night Whitney died (and was supposed to perform). Davis denies that story, though, so who knows? Radar also did an extensive timeline of Whitney’s last days – I suspect that the print edition of People Magazine will have one as well.

Covers courtesy of People, Us Weekly. Additional pics by WENN.

There are so many stories coming out after Whitney Houston’s untimely death this weekend. I’ll do my best to give an overview. Prior to covering all of this I just want to note that prescription drug overdoses now kill more people in the US than car accidents. I’ve seen prescription drug abuse affect people I know and it’s sad and scary to witness. I have a lot of sympathy for Whitney’s family, and of course for Whitney, but ultimately I feel that she is responsible for her addiction. It’s tragic that she paid for it with her life.

Investigation into her death
The Beverly Hills Police Department has announced that an investigation is ongoing into Whitney’s death, but that “it is not a criminal investigation” and that they are treating it as an accident. They state that “as of right now, it is a coroner’s case” and that they do not yet know the cause of death. TMZ claimed that a few pills were recovered at the scene including Xanax, Amoxicillin for a sore throat that Whitney was suffering, and Midol. Radar claims that three different sedatives were found in the room: Xanax, Lorazepam, and Valium.

Sedatives can cause serious side effects when mixed with alcohol. It’s known that Whitney was drinking that night. Some reports claim that Whitney’s family was told that there was not enough water in her lungs to conclude that she had died from drowning in the tub. Radar is now reporting that preliminary toxicology reports found benzodiazepines in her system. All of the sedatives reportedly found at the scene are benzodiazepines and can be fatal if mixed.

Whitney’s financial situation
Just prior to Whitney passing, the Enquirer ran a story that she was nearly destitute, and was back on drugs. Their sister site Radar Online has more on Whitney’s financial situation before she died, and they claim that she had been borrowing money from producer Clive Davis to live on. Whitney had a film coming up later this year that she co-produced and starred in, Sparkle, on which she was said to be hanging her hopes on a comeback. It will come out in August as scheduled and previous reports that it would be released early are said to be false.

The death scene
Both TMZ and Fox News are running photos featuring the tub where Whitney died and the remnants of the food she ordered from room service that fateful night. It’s tasteless to say the least and I don’t get the fascination with it.

The funeral plans
Whitney’s body has been returned to New Jersey on a private jet belonging to Tyler Perry. Her remains are being interred at a funeral home in her hometown of Newark, NJ. Her family is reportedly considering holding a wake on Thursday and a funeral on Friday. They’re said to be considering a public service at the Prudential center, which holds 18,000.

Whitney’s family
We’ve heard that Whitney’s only child, her 18 year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina, has been understandably inconsolable and needed to be hospitalized twice in the days following her mother’s death. Bobbi is said to have mixed a sedative with booze, just like her poor mom, and to have passed out. Bobbi’s most recent problems with drugs and alcohol may have preceded her mother’s death. She’s said to have also fallen asleep in a tub in the same hotel her mom died in, the day before Whitney’s died in an eerily similar way. Bobbi’s dad, Whitney’s ex husband Bobby Brown, has flown back to L.A. to be with his daughter.

Finger pointing and blame
Chaka Khan went on Piers Morgan last night and put a few people on blast for allowing Whitney, who has a well known and admitted history with addiction, to party in LA a week prior to her performance. I get that when someone dies you want to figure out why. As I mentioned above, Whitney made the decision to put those pills in her mouth. It’s not anyone’s fault and unlike Anna Nicole Smith it’s not like they were keeping her drugged for some nefarious purpose.

Celine Dion also made a statement that “It’s just really unfortunate that drugs, bad people, bad influences took over her dreams, her motherhood.” She also made comparisons to Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Amy Winehouse, and Michael Jackson. It seemed a little harsh at this point, but a lot of other people are saying it.

Condolences and tributes for Whitney
So many of us are in mourning that such a talented woman has died well before her time. There are a lot of sweet tributes in the press from celebrities who knew her and were inspired by her. Here are just a few:

Jennifer Hudson called it “greatest honor of my life” to sing for Whitney at the Grammys and said “I haven’t stopped crying since she passed.”

Singer Brandy said “My heart is destroyed. I lost my idol and dear friend.”

Bobby Brown issued a statement that he was “deeply saddened” and asked for privacy.

Even President Obama issued a statement through his press secretary, who said “I know that his thoughts and prayers are with her family, especially her daughter.”

And Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell made a visit to the Beverly Hilton, where Whitney died, to place flowers at a memorial for her there.

RIP Whitney.

Photo credit: WENN.com

I watched most of the Grammys – I turned it off after Adele performed “Rolling In the Deep” and I switched the channel when Chris Brown performed early in the evening. Note to Grammy producers: you’re going to put a woman-beater on your show before 9 pm? There are still kids watching at that point! Anyway, I did miss Jennifer Hudson’s tribute to Whitney, but luckily I caught up with it this morning. I think the producers did find the right tone with Whitney Houston’s – and LL Cool J as host really helped out. I wasn’t offended by LL offering a prayer to Whitney’s family and loved ones at the beginning of the show – it seemed authentic and kind, and it still felt like a celebration of music and… like, a joyful wake. LL said in part, “There’s no way around this. We’ve had a death in our family, and so at least for me – for me – the only thing that feels right is to begin with a prayer for a woman we loved, for our fallen sister, Whitney Houston. Whitney, we will always love you. And we’ll remember you the best way we know how – with a song.”

Anyway, here’s J-Hud’s performance of “I Will Always Love You” which came towards the end of the show:

Beautiful, right? I think it would have been cool if Dolly Parton – who wrote “I Will Always Love You” – had come on to honor Whitney in some way, I think J-Hud’s performance was lovely and respectful. She sang it with Whitney’s arrangement style, but Jennifer avoided “mimicking” Whitney’s voice. It was powerful.

Screencaps from the CBS video.

As we reported last night, Whitney Houston passed away in Beverly Hills on Saturday at the Beverly Hilton. She was 48 years old. She passed away during Grammy Weekend – where musicians, pop stars, rap and hip-hop stars and everyone and anyone involved in the music industry descends on LA for pre-Grammy parties and the actual Grammys, which are still scheduled for tonight. Ever since Whitney’s rep confirmed Whitney’s death, there has been a rush of information. Here are some bullet points:

*Whitney was discovered by a member of her entourage, likely a bodyguard. The person called hotel security, who in turn called 911. Whitney was unresponsive (likely already dead) when the EMTs arrived. TMZ’s sources claim that the night before her death (Friday), Whitney “partied heavily” at the hotel, “drinking and chatting loudly with friends in the bar.” Both Whitney’s mother (Cissy) and her cousin (Dionne Warwick) spoke to Whitney just hours before her death, and they both say she sounded fine.

*Whitney’s daughter Bobbi Kristina “got into an angry shouting match with police officers outside the hotel room where her mother was found dead.” Hours after Whitney’s death, Bobbie Kristina tried to see her mother’s body, but she was told no one was allowed in. Dionne Warwick was also sent away.

*The LAPD’s initial assessment is that there is no foul play. TMZ’s sources (probably inside the LAPD) claim that “no illegal drugs have been found in the hotel room where Whitney Houston died” but they’ve found prescription drugs. Allegedly, Whitney was found in the bathtub, and EMTs removed her from the tub, and there are suspicions Whitney might have passed out and drowned. There’s also a theory that she simply overdosed. Allegedly, no alcohol was found in the room either.

*TMZ says Whitney was taking Xanax. Xanax mixed with alcohol = not good. But! Radar says the LAPD found “a plethora of sedatives including Lorazepam, Valium, Xanax, and a sleeping medication that was found in her hotel room.” The autopsy will take place today or tomorrow, and the assumption (by Radar’s sources) is that Whitney accidentally overdosed.

*Whitney’s last film, Sparkle, is still scheduled to be released later this year. Sparkle is a remake of a 1976 film about young musicians struggling with addiction. Whitney had bought the rights to the story a decade ago, she executive produced the remake, and she costars as the mother of Jordin Sparks’ character. The last time Whitney was in a film was in 1996, in The Preacher’s Wife.

*Listen to the isolated vocals of Whitney singing “How Will I Know” here.

*Tony Bennett is using Whitney’s death to campaign for the legalization of drugs. His argument is lacking.

*Whitney’s last interview was with Access Hollywood? You can see it here.

*Read some statements from celebrities who loved Whitney here and here.

*Grammy producers are scrambling to add last-minute tributes to Whitney during tonight’s broadcast. Jennifer Hudson is coming on to perform “a respectful musical tribute” to Whitney. Allegedly, Chaka Khan might join her. My guess is that some of Lady Gaga’s performance time is being cut to make room for Whitney’s tribute.

*Bobby Brown cried during a concert last night.

RIP Whitney, you will be deeply missed.

Photos courtesy of WENN.