Source: L. Busacca / Getty With the recent documentary “Whitney” revealing that Whitney Houston was molested by a female family member, Cissy Houston claims she was shocked to learn of it. That, and she has serious doubts that it ever happened. According to PEOPLE , the deceased singer’s mother is finally breaking her silence, speaking out about the accusations made by Whitney’s longtime assistant Mary Jones . Remember: Jones claims that Dee Dee Warwick , Whitney’s cousin and Dionne Warwick’s sister, molested the Grammy winner. In addition, Whitney’s brother Gary says in the film that he too was molested between the ages of 7 and 9 by a female family member. “Being a child—being seven, eight, nine years old—and being molested by a female family member of mine. My mother and father were gone a lot, so we stayed with a lot of different people . . . four, five different families who took care of us,” Gary said in the film. However, Cissy, also speaking for Dionne, sent a statement to PEOPLE questioning the validity of the allegations. Here’s an excerpt of her statement: My niece Dionne Warwick and I make this statement to raise our voices above the din surrounding the release of the film, Whitney . Although the film is marketed as a Houston Family approved/endorsed project, neither my son, Michael, Dionne nor I knew of the allegations of abuse, the direction the film would take, until two days before the screening at Cannes. To begin we want to state clearly that the horror of what victims of sexual abuse experience is unimaginable. We make no attempt to minimize the pain, the trauma and perhaps lifelong damage to the psyche of abuse victims. We understand and acknowledge that there are no rules governing a person’s reaction to trauma and every person reacts differently. By this statement we do not intend to defend, condone or excuse the crime of molestation. Source: Dave Kotinsky / Getty We cannot, however, overstate the shock and horror we feel and the difficulty we have believing that my niece Dee Dee Warwick (Dionne’s sister) molested two of my three children. I’ve been told—as ju stification for the invasive theme of this film—that Whitney was a public person and therefore the public has a right to know any and everything about her. I say, NO, she was a famous person … a singer, an actress, a quiet but generous philanthropist. She wasn’t running for office, asking for money or trying to win the right to run anyone’s life. Her job does not entitle the “public” to know every intimate detail of her life beyond what she herself revealed during her lifetime. Although she spoke about her struggle with drugs, the interventions, her daughter Krissi and issues in her marriage, she never PUBLICLY spoke about her father’s stealing from her or revealed any claim that she had been molested. IF she was molested I do not believe she would have wanted it to be revealed for the first time to thousands, maybe millions of people in a film. I know the woman who was identified as Whitney’s “close confidante”. If she was my daughter’s “close confidante” it would seem she chose to betray Whitney’s confidence by publicizing rumors and hearsay. In any case Dionne, Michael and I do not know her the way we knew and loved Dee Dee Warwick. Dee Dee may have had her personal challenges but the idea that she would have molested my children is overwhelming and for us unfathomable. We cannot reconcile the Public’s need to know about Whitney’s life as justification for invasion of her privacy or the charge against Dee Dee, a charge which neither Whitney nor Dee Dee is here to deny, refute or affirm. Neither I, Dionne, nor my son Michael who was very close to his sister, and in the film is VERY candid about their drug use, has ever heard these allegations; we have never heard anything remotely connected to the crimes charged against Dee Dee in the film. How can that be fair to my daughter, to Dee Dee, or to our family? I spent many years in recording studios (sometimes with Dionne and/or Dee Dee) where I earned my living. I also went “on the road” with my group The Sweet Inspirations to try to help provide a good life for my family BUT my children always came first in my heart and in my life. When I was away they did not stay with four or five different families; they stayed at home where their longtime babysitter, Phyllis, or my dear friend Bae or their father took care of them. In all the years I traveled Dee Dee, who was 21 years older than Whitney, NEVER BABYSAT for them. Despite Cissy’s statement, Jones stressed to PEOPLE that she is telling the truth and didn’t mean any harm by speaking out. She added: “I deeply love and respect Dionne, Cissy, and their entire families, and my intention was never to embarrass anyone in the family, but rather to bring to light that Whitney was subjected to something painful and troubling as a child. And it’s something that happens to other innocent kids and goes unspoken too much.” RELATED NEWS: Bobby Brown’s Sister Swears She Didn’t Sell Whitney Houston’s Bathroom Photo To Kanye West ‘Whitney’ The Documentary Dares To Delve Deep Into The Cause Of Whitney’s Addiction Why Are We Ignoring The Fact That Pusha-T Exploited Whitney Houston For Promotion?
Read more from the original source:
Cissy Houston Says She Has ‘Difficulty Believing’ Allegations That Whitney Houston Was Molested By Her Cousin
