Given the vastness of Whitney Houston’s life, it is understandable why several scenes in “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” are shown one after another quickly.
With the help of Houston’s estate and her mentor, music mogul Clive Davis, the movie (which is currently available on Netflix), which bears her beautiful pop melodies, was filmed with an air of realism.
But even the most revered biopics have plenty of room for artistic interpretation, so we looked for explanations for a few instances where we had questions. We enlisted a professional to help: Kasi Lemmons, the director of the movie, who devoted 17 months to creating “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
Lemmons stated the following.
When Houston and Jackson cut the duet “If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful” for Jackson’s 1986 album “Precious Moments,” rumours abounded in the mid-’80s. In the movie, Houston and Jackson are seen making flirtatious eye contact while recording, and then Houston confesses to her envious lover, Robyn Crawford, that she had slept with Jackson.
Jackson was married at the time, and Lemmons acknowledged that “there were strong emotions” when the two recorded together. Jackson’s sister, LaToya, added that her brother had acknowledged the connection in an appearance with “The Talk” in 2012.
John Houston, Whitney’s father, did he advise her to date men in public?
Early on in the movie, Houston’s sexuality is discussed as she becomes good friends with Crawford and a low-key romantic interest. But John Houston, Houston’s father, had strong opinions about his daughter’s look, particularly when her music career took off.
We spoke with everyone who knew Whitney, and (her father) John was highly devoted to the brand, according to Lemmons. We learned from a variety of sources that he was furious when Whitney’s sexual orientation became public knowledge and that he threatened Robyn.
Was Whitney’s absence at her father’s funeral due to drug use that left her high?
In the movie, footage of John Houston slumped in a chair at home while high on drugs are cut in between sequences of his burial.
Lemmons claims that although Houston did not attend her father’s burial, it wasn’t necessarily because she was under the influence of drugs.
Houston was probably still angry with her father even though she had forgiven him on his deathbed because he had sued her for breach of contract a few months prior.
But John passed away in 2003, and Whitney started treatment in 2004. Her issues with substance misuse were thus “all around the same time,” Lemmons continues.
