It’s been reported that Bobby Brown is not welcome to the funeral of Whitney Houston. The family has reportedly let him know in no uncertain terms that his presence would not be appreciated and that he needs to stay away. While no one knows the nature of the beef between Bobby and Whitney’s family, it’s not hard to imagine why they might have a problem with the man who has worked so hard to ruin his own life.
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Sadly enough, it wouldn’t surprise me if Bobby’s funeral wasn’t too far off in the distant future. So if Bobby is upset that he didn’t get an invite to Whitney’s funeral, he can get revenge by not inviting them to his own. Don’t get mad at me for stating the obvious; you know Bobby Brown is messed up.
I am mixed on whether Bobby should or should not be invited to Whitney’s funeral, so I have done a fifty-fifty list on whether he should attend.
1) He should not be invited because he was the primary person who helped destroy her life: If Whitney Houston is your sister, daughter, cousin, or best friend, you have very good reason to hate Bobby Brown. You saw her destroy herself with drugs and alcohol, partying with a man who only encouraged her to do more of what she already liked to do. When you tried to intervene in her life, he was one of the people blocking the door. You want to blame someone, even though Whitney was grown enough to make her own choices. Bobby Brown is the most convenient suspect.
2) He should be there because he has a right to be: Whether the family likes it or not, Bobbi Kristina is his daughter too. There is almost nothing that burns my butt more than parental alienation. I hear from fathers every day who’ve been sliced out of the lives of their own children by possessive and pushy relatives, and I have gone through this myself. So while I am not a fan of Bobby Brown’s antics, the truth is that this man has a right to be with his daughter to support her during her most difficult time. If Bobbi Kristina wants her daddy with her, then he has a right to be there.
3) He should not be there because he doesn’t want to make a scene: The media attention, the family fighting, and all the other drama that comes along with this family is a recipe for the perfect ghetto funeral. In fact, I’m sure Vh-1 is fantasizing about being able to bring cameras into the ceremony. If Bobby Brown does show up to this funeral, all hell might possibly break loose: someone could get cussed out, punched, stabbed, shot, or tasered, all at a second’s notice. His presence might surely put us on the verge of a televised Negro Armageddon. So perhaps for the sake of sanity and decency during a time of mourning, Bobby should just stay on the road with his rejuvenated boy band, New Edition.
4) He should be there because Whitney was the love of his life: Whether we approve or not, the truth is that Whitney and Bobby loved each other. She ran around the country trying to convince us that he was the king of R&B long after his career had become indefinitely comatose. They did videos together singing about the tenacity and persistence of their love. Bobby broke down and cried on stage upon hearing about Whitney’s passing. There was a significant realness about this relationship, and it’s only something that these two will ever understand.
Everyone wants to believe they own a piece of Whitney Houston. She was one of the most-talented singers of her generation and truly a spectacle to behold. One of those pieces belongs to Bobby Brown, and I suspect that if we were to ask Whitney herself, she’d want Bobby in that crowd. Even if she didn’t like him on the day she died, their spiritual DNA is interwoven for all of eternity.
A funeral is a celebration of a person’s life and everything that made them into who they were before they died. To talk about the life of Whitney Houston without mentioning Bobby Brown would be like discussing Flavor Flav without bringing up his clock. Bobby missing the funeral would simply seem unnatural, we have to at least admit that.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.
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