Oprah Winfrey 'begged' fans not to leak Whitney Houston mishap that 'would ruin her'
Oprah Winfrey 'begged' fans not to leak Whitney Houston mishap that 'would ruin her'
Ellie HookWed, June 24, 2026 at 8:03 AM UTC
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Oprah was honored with the LionHeart Award at Cannes Lions -Credit:Andy Kropa/Invision/AP (Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
Oprah Winfrey is trying to do good in the world.
The 72-year-old host turned her Cannes Lions appearance into a call for stars to use their platforms for good, speaking with festival chair Phil Thomas about philanthropy, legacy and her improbable path from rural Mississippi to becoming one of the most powerful self-made figures in media.
Speaking in the Lumière Theatre, where she received the festival's LionHeart Award, Oprah discussed purpose and responsibility before an audience of advertising, media and creator-economy figures. She also reflected on the school she built in South Africa, her friendship with Maya Angelou, her childhood in Mississippi and her memorable interview with the late Whitney Houston on The Oprah Winfrey Show. It comes after Whitney's autopsy revealed "deep physical scars" from her struggles.
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Oprah recalled, "We did the whole, 'Hey girl, how you doing?' greeting thing and then I stopped the cameras and I went behind stage and I said, 'So tell me, what do you want to happen here? And I'm gonna tell you what I want to happen here.'"
"And that was one of the most powerful interviews," the star added. She said Whitney later returned to the show to perform and had relapsed in her addiction.
Whitney died on February 11, 2012 -Credit:Corbis via Getty Images
"I had such trust from 'The Oprah Show' audience … I think it was [Whitney's] last show with us, and she had gone back on drugs," Oprah said.
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She added, "The first interview I did with her when we'd gone behind stage and I asked her about her intention, she was clean, but the day she came to my show then to perform in front of the audience, she was not, and she fell off of the stage."
Oprah said she knew the moment could have been devastating if it became public. "I knew that if that story got out … she would be destroyed by that," Oprah admitted.
The TV star revealed she "begged them not to put those pictures out because it would ruin her life," and the audience listened. The revelation led Oprah to appeal to the creators' sense of responsibility and emphasized that influence carries obligations.
Oprah recalled a sad story about Whitney Houston -Credit:Getty Images
"What you're doing is not just making money and creating influence for yourself … it's the subsidiary thing that happens from living," she said.
She added, "But you have a bigger calling in life … Your bigger job here on the planet is to be the best human being you can be, not the best creator, not the best talk show host, not the best podcaster, but how are you evolving into what creation intended for you to be?"
Pat Houston, who manages Whitney's estate, has slammed Oprah's claims. She told TMZ, "Whitney absolutely fell off the stage, but it was during a sound check, and it was due to the darkness of the area and her unfamiliarity with the stage. She was absolutely not high."
The day before the Grammy Awards, she accidentally drowned in a hotel room. She left behind her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, who died three years later at the age of 22.
Whitney died on February 11, 2012, at the age of 48 after an accidental drowning in her hotel room. She was known as The Voice for her powerful vocal talents that continued to win accolades even after her death.
By the end of her life, though, she was also well-known for her lengthy journey with drug addiction, which was immortalized in the 2022 biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
