Spoiler alert! The plot points of the new biopic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and the real life of Whitney Houston are discussed below. She stops reading if she hasn’t seen it and doesn’t want to know.
The scope of Whitney Houston’s life is so immense that it’s no wonder that many moments in “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” are depicted in quick succession.
The film (now in theaters) was made with the cooperation of the Houston estate, as well as his mentor, music mogul Clive Davis, imprinting it with a stamp of authenticity (and an abundance of his beautiful pop songs).
Still, creative license abounds in the holiest of biopics, so we looked for clarity on several moments that made us go “hmm.” We hired an expert to help: the film’s director, Kasi Lemmons, who spent 17 months immersed in the making of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
Here’s what Lemmons had to say about the key points.
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Did Whitney Houston have an affair with Jermaine Jackson?
Rumors surfaced in the mid-’80s when Houston and Jackson recorded the duet “If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful” for Jackson’s 1986 record. “Precious Moments” album. In the film, Houston and Jackson are seen exchanging glances in the recording booth, followed by Houston telling his jealous girlfriend, Robyn Crawford, that she had been intimate with Jackson.
Lemmons confirmed that “there were strong emotions” when the two recorded together, which eventually led to an affair (Jackson was married at the time). Jackson’s sister LaToya also said during a 2012 interview on “The Talk” that her brother had admitted to the relationship.
Did Whitney’s father, John Houston, tell her that she had to date men in public?
Houston’s sexuality is addressed early in the film, as she and Crawford become fast friends and low-key romantic partners. But Houston’s father, John, had definite opinions about his daughter’s image, especially when her music career began.
“We talked to everyone around Whitney and (her father) John was very focused on the brand,” says Lemmons. “We heard from many sources that he was extremely unhappy when news started to spread (about Whitney’s sexuality) and that he had threatened Robyn.”
Houston’s sexuality concerns seemed “archaic even back then,” says Lemmons. “But (John) was very serious about her image. He wanted Whitney to be Barbie.”
Did Whitney Miss Her Dad’s Funeral Because She Was Addicted To Drugs?
In the film, scenes of John Houston’s funeral are interspersed with shots of Houston slumped in a chair at home, high on drugs.
While Houston did skip her father’s funeral, Lemmons says it wasn’t necessarily because she was too high to attend.
More likely, Houston was still upset about her father suing her for breach of contract a few months earlier, even though she forgave him on her deathbed.
But John died in 2003 and Whitney entered rehab in 2004. So her struggles with substance abuse were “all around the same time,” adds Lemmons.
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Did Clive Davis perform an intervention for Whitney at her home?
It is well documented that Houston’s mentor made many attempts to steer her towards sobriety, and Davis brought Houston into his home at some point to manage tough love. “He could tell us, ‘We were sitting there,’” recalls Lemmons.
Did Whitney receive drugs from dealers who hid them in pens and pretended to be fans asking for her autograph?
The film depicts Houston devising a sly way to obtain drugs: exchanging pens with a dealer posing as a fan wanting an autograph. (The drugs were hidden inside the paddock.) Although Lemmons surmises that more than one drug dealer was involved in such dealings with Houston, she says screenwriter Anthony McCarten has footage of the “fan” talking about the sting.
“People take credit for the weirdest things,” says Lemmons. “After Whitney died, several people came out and claimed they were her drug dealer.”
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Did Whitney make a drug deal in the Beverly Hilton lobby the day she died?
Houston, 48, died of accidental drowning in 2012 in her hotel bathtub hours before Davis’s annual pre-Grammy party at the hotel. Her autopsy found cocaine, Xanax, marijuana and other substances in her system.
The film shows Houston walking through the hotel lobby on the afternoon of her death and encountering the same long-haired autograph seeker with whom she switched pens earlier in the film.
Lemmons says she “on good authority” that Houston did buy drugs on the day of her death, but probably didn’t do it herself. (Cameras in the hotel lobby certainly would have captured Houston.)
“Famous people have people to help you with these transactions,” she says.
Did Whitney have a conversation with a hotel bartender hours before her death?
If it seems unlikely that a superstar the size of Houston would be in a hotel bar during the day and chat with a bartender, well, that interaction, sweet as it is, never happened.
In a moving monologue, the bartender reminds Houston of her greatness, recalling her epic performance at the 1994 American Music Awards (a mash-up of “I Loves You Porgy,” “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” and “I Have Nothing”) which is faithfully recreated at the end of the film.
But alas, “it was just lovely text,” says Lemmons. “We wanted her to connect with a fan who had really strong feelings for her. I’m sure she’s had many of these types of encounters.
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