By DyvaNaye (205.188.209.13) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 02:09 am:

She left rehab after 5 days... he is now locked up for $63,000 in back child support. I see a link. Whitney leaves to get the capital for Bobby to pay up...but the plea in court was 'Mr Brown does not have the money to pay'...uh... is she not gonna cover him? (like she usually does and never deals with her own problems?)

By janebse (68.63.6.8) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 09:40 am:

Isn't this a BIG national problem? How many people in public life are on drugs and are tolerated, even admired? At what point does the public demand something from their icons? We pay huge amounts of money to show how much we admire them. Perhaps it's time we demand something in return. For even if we say their talent is what we admire, their talent is diminished by their substance abuse. Why should they change when we continue to support them?

By puzzled (205.188.209.13) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 09:55 am:

Bobby is able to enjoy life without a job and without funds, without the ability to support his children, but possibly doing illicit substances and eating three squares a day.

There is a link here, and it's the person paying his bills and letting him live a life of leisure -- Whitney Houston. Is she doing him any favors by allowing him not to have to work?

Why do women enable lazy, dependent men like that?

By Gary (66.73.238.5) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 10:03 am:

This morning I heard Bobby's check has cleared on his delinquent child support payments. As a divorced father myself, I can certainly sympathize with Bobby's situation...those Friend of Court people are a bunch of a$$holes.

I wish Whitney and Bobby all the best in getting their lives straightened out.

By Common (209.2.55.170) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 10:30 am:

Hello everyone,

I just feel for everyone involved. Because someone has money or fame, doesn't take away the other ongoing issues that they have. It also doesn't help because they are public figures who are constantly scrutinzed, sometimes for better or for worst! People tend to forget that they are human, not superpeople. I just pray that they can heal themselves & pull their lives together.

Peace!

By Reese (12.15.168.217) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 11:03 am:

From what I've read and seen, Bobby has come up with the money owed (one source said possibly his family), and has been released from jail. Also, Whitney did leave the rehab facility, but not rehab itself. She is continuing the program from a rented house. Whether any or all of the above is true or not reamins to be seen. I wish them the best.

By puzzled (205.188.209.13) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 11:13 am:

Bobby may have fame, but he apparently has no money.

When you or I have no money, we go to work.

Why should Bobby Brown be any different?

By JACKIE (129.7.104.50) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 02:14 pm:

I AGREE PUZZLED!! I THINK BOBBY IS TAKING A FREE RIDE AT WHITNEY'S EXPENSE. WHEN WILL SHE WAKE UP?. SHE NEEDS TO STOP BABY SITTING BOBBY AND TAKE CARE OF HER OWN ISSUES FOR THE SAKE OF HER CHILD AND HERSELF !!

By ~medusa~ (68.250.8.91) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 02:25 pm:

Since we can see what's going on, but still hoping 4 the best, I would love 2 know how they hooked up N the first place, how and where did they meet? does anyone know?

By R&B (138.238.41.118) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 02:27 pm:

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA,SOME OF YOU SEEMED SURPRISED BY THIS NEW CHAPTER IN THE SOAP OPERA OF[WHITNEY AND BOBBY]IT'S JUST ANOTHER EPISODE,THIS SHOW AIN'T GONNA GET CANCELED FOR YEARS I'M AFRAID UNTIL THE SPONSOR[WHITNEY]RUNS OUT OF FUNDS.HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA[OH AND THIS LAUGHTER IS NOT HUMOR,BUT IRONY!]

By Rese (12.15.168.217) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 02:40 pm:

Medusa,

according to various Whitney bios that I've read, Whitney and Bobby met at a Soul Train awards ceremony. (It might have been the one where Whitney was booed.)

She was seated behind him. And every time she got up, she accidentally hit him in the head. At some point he told her to watch it. I guess she must have been smitten because not long after, she invited him to her birthday party.

By bigdaddyg2k4 (205.138.54.31) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 06:04 pm:

Reese, according to Wednesday's issue of USA Today in the Life section, there is a short story of Whitney's dilemma titled AIDE: PRESSURE GOT TO HOUSTON. It states that her spiritual adviser, Prince Asiel Ben Israel (probably the same dude on that Dateline NBC piece on Whitney that aired last year when she and Bobby visited Israel) told CBS' "The Early Show" that she is relying on prescription drugs and does not have a problem with cocaine or marijuana. He also said "When you've got the demands of the press and the demands of your public, you're trying to take a pill to stay up and one to lay down." So basically he saying that she's just a pill popper,
not a weed-head or crackhead ("Crack is whack"). But isn't the purpose to go to rehab is to rectify the problem period? No matter what you were taking in the first place? I don't know, just another continuing episode in the "(Mis)Adventures Of Bobby & Whitney", I guess. And Bobby thought he was out of the woods, when he said "You will never see me go back into jail or coming out of one ever again!", I guess he spoke too soon on that one! KEEP HOPE ALIVE BOBBY! NEVA LET THEM SEE U SWEAT!

By Greg C. (165.247.38.29) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 06:45 pm:

Their relationship is a sick co-dependency. Both are in need of dire assistance and some serious mental health. Unless their problems are seriously addressed, they will only spiral downward and self-destruct.

The person I'm concerned with is the child, Bobbi Kristina. I can only imagine what she's seen and heard and the repercussions to this child's psyche will be tremendous. As a mental health professional who deals with individuals with substance abuse problems, EVERY child from an environment like this will take away scars.You can't get around it...

By Juicefree20 (141.149.41.20) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 08:13 pm:

What's so ironic about this whole situation is that, Bobby was a star with New Edition before Whitney was even on the recording map. I remember how shocked everyone was when these two first hooked up. Everyone bought into the Clive Davis contrived sweet & wholesome image of Whitney. Those people just couldn't understand how such a wholesome girl, could fall for a bad boy like Bobby.

You ever hear the old chestnut that an apple doesn't fall far from the tree? Due to the publicity & image put out, people forgot that Whitney is a young lady from Newarks' projects. Whitney is no joke & this is why I talk so much about singers having false info in their bios. A lot of people slept on Whitney & they never really knew her at all. Bobby corrupted her, yeah sure he did. I hope & pray that I'm wrong, but, everything that's been going on over the past few years, makes me feel that there's a tragic ending for someone.

I thought that after his movie role, that he would have had a few offers. I thought that his acting showed a degree of humor & figured there'd be some roles for him. Unfortunately, Bobby is an entertainer & it seems as though he can't get arrested. Ok, wrong choice of words. I mean that the music industry doesn't seem to be interested in him as a singer. As such, he doesn't work. As he was so young when N.E. started out, one can only imagine what his education was. It's very unfortunate & I wonder if the fact that he's no longer a hit maker, has something to do with his bouts of excess. I guess that having a wife with that kind of dough helps one to eat. As a man, I would be very uncomfortable with the idea that I was doing nothing to pull my weight.

Nevertheless, I wish the both of them well. May God bless them, as they both have been in denial about their problems for years. May God bless little Bobbi, as I can't imagine that all of this disfunction could possibly be good for her.

By puzzled (205.188.209.13) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 08:53 pm:

I feel for Bobbi too, but what about Bobby's other kids?

How did they feel when they saw him boo-hooing that he had no money, to the judge?

Then miraculously a day later he ponies up the $62,000?

By Linda Di. (66.67.198.188) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 09:04 pm:

I was in Whitney's presence one time, many years ago (pre-Bobby). She was not a very nice person that evening, but it could have been a bad day or whatever. It was a coincidence that we ended up together, as I'm not a fan and wasn't waiting to meet her. She was traveling with her best friend and assistant, Robin Crawford. I still wonder if she would have been happier not marrying Bobby but just hanging out with her lifelong best homegirl. Did the pressure of the accusations of being gay make her run to Bobby? I sure hope that's not the case, but if it is, she should be true to herself, whatever that may be.

By Rodmann (12.223.170.105) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 09:21 pm:

Thanks Linda. Since you brought up Robin Crawford I've got a few questions. It seems like people bring up Miss Crawford's name as if to suggest that her and Whitney had a lesbian relationship and then they immediately change the subject. I've seen two Whitney Houston tell-all type specials on TV in the last year and they did this. Who is this Robin person and what role did she play in Whitney's early career? Was she just an innocent friend of Whitney's, a business associate or more? What's it all about? This has always struck me as odd.

By Dinelle (68.222.8.251) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 09:38 pm:

I want to know what's going to happen to their daughter.

By puzzled (205.188.209.13) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 09:45 pm:

Bobby's other children may not have a celebrity as a mother, but they're just as important.

By Linda Di. (66.67.198.188) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 09:46 pm:

I think they were lifelong sister-friends. But the rumors always flew about them being gay. Did Whitney run off and marry Bobby to disprove those rumors? A friend witnessed quite a tussle between Robin and Bobby outside a Beverly Hills hotel back in the day. I just always wondered if that's what has caused Whitney so much heartache over the years. And I feel bad now because I don't like to discuss people's business here, so my apologies for doing so.

By puzzled (205.188.209.13) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 09:52 pm:

Linda,
This rumor just will not go away. Do you really think, if she was gay, she'd put up with a husband who doesn't work and who's raised his hand to her? She's been with him for 10 long years.

It seems to me, if it wasn't a love match, she would have been long gone.

By Rodmann (12.223.170.105) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 10:03 pm:

I'm sorry Linda. I wasn't trying to get you to dish the dirt. I've just always wondered who this Robin woman is.

I've heard several rumors about Whitney being gay but it seems like those things are said about every Black woman in the public eye from Oprah to Toni Braxton to Missy Elliot to Queen Latifah, etc. I've even read somewhere that it was rumored that Donna Summer was really a man back in the 70's! So these nonsense rumors really don't hold much weight with me.

By Rodmann (12.223.170.105) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 10:04 pm:

Good point puzzeled!

By J5 Collector (68.190.127.252) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 10:25 pm:

Puzzled, I don't understand why any woman, gay or straight, would put up with a man like that.

But maybe Bobby knows some things and she's buying his silence.

What a sad waste of talent, on both accounts.

By Greg C. (165.247.26.187) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 10:29 pm:

puzzled & Rodmann,

No,no,no!

Folks, you need to understand that a LOT of people opt to stay in relationships that are detrimental and destructive and no good for them and love doesn't have a damn thing to do with it.

Most humans by nature are afraid and terrified of change and the unknown, so many decide to stay in relationships and situations that are no good for them and destructive rather than strike out on their own because for all the pain that it causes, the relationship is predictable and they know what to expect from it. Sad but true.

It takes a very strong person in a negative relationship to look deep within and say, "Hey, this is NOT working, this is bad and destructive for me. I can do better than this and move on!"

Again, Whitney & Bobby's relationship is about a very negative trade-off. The only thing is it gets worse by the day. It's deep.....

By puzzled (152.163.253.70) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 10:30 pm:

J5,

Trust me, it's hard enough to put up with a man like that when you LIKE men.

If your preference is for women, it would be even more inexplicable.

By Juicefree20 (141.149.41.20) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 10:42 pm:

Has anyone simply considered that they have much more in common than we realize. Perhaps, they were always more alike than people thought. Too often, we fall for the image projected by people who are well paid for creating these images. How often have these images been the real deal? Remember the great lady-killer & man's man, Rock Hudson? How many people bought into that image? Well, we all know how that turned out. The entertainment industry has always trotted out lies & grossly distorted image from the beginning. As such, we think that we know them as people, when we don't even know the half. I don't see Whitney as co-dependent, or anything as such. I think that she likes the life that she's living & doesn't much care what you or I think about it. Honestly, I don't believe that any of us really knew her, anymore than the media really knew O.J. Remember the commercial: "Image is everything, alright."

Juice

By Vandelron (68.198.48.201) on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 10:44 pm:

Maybe she really is bi-sexual(and Robin is a stunning looking woman either way)--Whitney is also impacted by Cissy and Johns realtionship.

By Shawn1b (65.26.96.233) on Saturday, March 27, 2004 - 01:54 am:

I think Whitney and Bobby love each other !Whitney was no angel when she met Bobby as people think !I personally think they should leave them alone !Shawn

By puzzled (152.163.253.70) on Saturday, March 27, 2004 - 02:10 am:

Yeah well when you go around punching people and melting down in public, what is the press supposed to do, avert their eyes?

Wen you have children and abandon them, the government does get involved. Looks like Whitney made one LAST check out to bail out her underemployed baby father:

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=3011

By Soul Sister (65.43.144.46) on Saturday, March 27, 2004 - 11:44 am:

Don't want to start no more controversy but its true what Juice & Shawn say, a source close to the family says stuff (shocking stuff of the street-life type of stuff, none of which I'll mention here) allegedly has been going on in that family for generations. Like others say Whitney is no stranger to this type of lifestyle, perhaps a victim of circumstance and as GregC expressed in a needy co-dependant relationship with her user husband Bobby.
Its such a sad waste because Whitney has such a fabulous natural talent as a vocalist. Personally I don't see any talent in Bobby. Sorry.
S.S.

By LadyMystique (216.108.206.177) on Saturday, March 27, 2004 - 05:39 pm:

Well, as I have expressed in the Lionel Richie thread about his ugly divorce, the kids (Bobby's and Bobby's and Whitney's) come first. Bobby hasn't been touring (you can't count the one tour with Whitney that went bust), his last CD was a commercial and critical flop, and he has a bad rep for being in and out of jail cells like they were the Holiday Inn! I am hoping that after Whitney's treatment (which I am thankful that she is at least admitting that she has a problem...give her kudos for that as that is the hardest thing to do), she would be thinking differently. Bobbi, her daughter, should come first for Whitney, at this point, besides herself...Bobby, the man, should start to do more thinking...I think he is seeing that he is getting too old for this...he did break down in court. I am hoping for something positive out of this...I am tired of all the negativity surrounding this couple.

By tesco (67.100.124.59) on Saturday, March 27, 2004 - 06:33 pm:

It's funny, the talk about what a false front Whitney's image was back in the day. One day somewhere in the late 80's, a co-worker and I accidentally discovered the office for her company in a discreet upscale corporate building somewhere in North Jersey (I think it was near Fort Lee somewhere, but I might be wrong, this was a long time ago and my job put me in buildings like that every day, so they all kind of blend together). Anyway, we realized that it was "Whitney's office", so we just walked in and started to talk to the girl up front, who was definitely from around the way, and she had a bunch of her homegirls from Newark hanging out and lots of people coming and going, and definitely some, ahem, partying going on. This was sometime in the late 80's when Whitney's image was still real squeeky clean and my friend and I were amused at how much action seemed to be going on there. I don't even know if Whitney ever spent any time there, but it definitely wasn't a Clive Davis-endorsed scene, let me tell you.

By Juicefree20 (68.161.46.83) on Saturday, March 27, 2004 - 07:23 pm:

The point to this is don't believe the hype & images that are thrust upon you. There are many of us who don't really know the people who we live with & SEE & LIVE with DAILY!!! How in the world can we really believe that we know an entertainer based on what we see, think, or read, through a press agent? There's a saying that water seeks it own level. In this case, it's truer than most would have imagined.

Juice