Silke Jasso
A new documentary about Whitney Houston claims to reveal details about a long-rumored romance with her assistant and friend, Robyn Crawford.
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“Whitney: Can I Be Me” had its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday and reportedly shared behind-the-scenes footage of the musician’s secret life. It also reportedly examines her rumored relationship with Crawford through in-depth interviews with family members and close friends. Crawford herself is not featured in the documentary.
“I don’t think she was gay, I think she was bisexual,” Houston’s longtime friend Ellin Lavar says in the film according to PEOPLE. “Robyn provided a safe place for her…in that Whitney found safety and solace.”
Houston and Crawford reportedly met as teenagers and were friends through the years, even after she was married to Bobby Brown for 15 years. Brown and Crawford’s relationship was rocky from the start. Things between them hit a breaking point in 1999.
“Robyn and Whitney were like twins,” Kevin Ammons, a security guard for Houston says. “They were inseparable. They had a bond and Bobby Brown could never remove Robyn. He wanted to be the man in the relationship.”
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He continued, “They’d battle for her affections. Bobby and Robyn had some physical altercations and there were times where he wasn’t always the winner. But then Whitney would always come and pour oil over troubled waters.”
After Crawford left, Lavar believes that’s when Houston’s “downfall” began.
“That was the downfall of of Whitney. Robyn was the person who was keeping her together,” Laval says.
In Febrauary 2012, Houston was found submerged in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. After her death, Crawford wrote Houston’s obituary for Esquire and described her as a “loyal friend.”
According to PEOPLE, the directors of the film admitted during a panel discussion that they faced “heavy legal pushback” about the film but did not reveal who was behind it.
“Whitney: Can I Be Me” is set to premiere n Showtime in August 2017.
