Colleagues and friends of Whitney Houston gathered Tuesday night to screen “Whitney,” a new telefilm about the beloved entertainer’s triumphant career, often troubled life and tragic death.
But Houston’s family was conspicuously absent from the premiere, which took place at the Paley Center for Media, located just blocks away from The Beverly Hilton hotel, where the 48-year-old Houston drowned in her guest room in February 2012. The official coroner’s report listed heart disease and cocaine as contributing factors in her death.
Relatives were invited to participate in the “Whitney” project from the start, explained Angela Bassett, the Oscar-nominated actress marking her feature-directing debut with the biopic, which debuts Jan. 17 on the Lifetime cable network.
“And it was the family’s choice and decision, because of what they want to do and whatever their desires or their plans are, not to be involved in this one,” Bassett said. “But they didn’t have anything negative to say about it. You know, sometimes to be silent is the greatest gift.”
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