The Houstons Reality Show Might Be Too Soon
Last night was the premiere of The Houstons: On Our Own, the reality TV show on Lifetime starring the family of the late great Whitney Houston. This includes her daughter Bobbi Kristina and boyfriend Nick Gordon, Patty Houston, her manager and sister-in-law, Gary Houston, her brother and their daughter Rayah. And mama Cissy Houston.
I forgot it was coming on and had to catch the re-run because of peer pressure and because curiosity got the best of me. Not really because I wanted to watch it. The moment I found out that they were gonna have a show, I immediately thought “Isn’t this too soon?” and that thought has stuck with me. As I watched the show itself, I can firmly say that I believe this show is TOO SOON. TOO. DAMB. SOON.
There were many moments that pointed me to this conclusion and a lot of them involved Bobbi Kristina. When her mom died, I was truly concerned for her. Everyone knows how close those two were so I couldn’t even imagine her pain. She was hospitalized twice right after Whitney’s death and looked so heartbroken. She should be the family’s focus during this time because I’m afraid for what she might or has turned to as she mourns.
As indicated in the show, filming started 3 months after Whitney’s death. THREE MONTHS. This makes me assume that TWO months after she passed, they were already signing up for this show. 60 days. 8 weeks. That feels to me like nothing. That’s no time to really deal with the sudden death of a loved one. In fact, I’ve barely gotten over it and I didn’t e’em know the woman personally! But 2 months after, her family was already entertaining a TV show about their lives without her. And a month after that, they started filming.
Yes. Too soon.
Besides that, there are other reasons I think they should have held off on this show.
The Houstons showed that Bobbi Kristina has made her boyfriend, Nick Gordon, her whole life. It’s understandable that she’d turn to him after her death because Whitney took him in and he lived with them for years. But now, they are inseparable in a way that seems really unhealthy. They still stay in the house they shared with Whitney and they do everything together.
When they’re out in public, they’re constantly canoodling as if no one else is there. This would be cute if under some normal circumstances, but under the context, it feels like they’re trying to stay next to each other all the time from some latent fear of loss. That and the whole Clingy McSpidermonkey bit is annoying and it’s clear that Patty Houston is NOT here for it. Patty spent the whole time facepalming about Nick and Krissy’s relationship and how it’s keeping Krissy from the rest of the family.
Spider monkey game proper.
It also didn’t help that Nick and Krissy announced they were engaged at dinner. Krissy even showed off her ring, which was given to her by Whitney. Ummm… ma’am. Your engagement ring was given to you by your mama. What did Nick give you as a symbol of his love? Nothing? Oh aight. O_O HE coulda at least given her a ring pop. Something.
My absolute TOO SOON moment was when the family went to visit Whitney’s grave in New Jersey for the first time since her funeral. I was so uneasy watching this part. I felt like I was invading on their privacy for being let into something so intensely personal and painful and I squirmed while watching. I was all should I leave the room? I felt like I should leave them alone.
I don’t think the cameras should have captured the moment. Does it make for great TV drama? You know? Not even. No one watching that shoulda been all “THIS IS SO JUICY.” Nawl. It seemed too painful for even reality TV. Watching Cissy talk to Krissy and letting her know she needs to stay in better touch was just… Woooo. Man… I feel for them both.
And on top of that, it’s clear that Bobbi Kris is not coping well at all with her mother’s death. The distraction she isn’t getting from constantly being UNDER Nick, she’s looking for in other substances like drugs and alcohol. She’s 19 and isn’t even of legal age to drink. But she’s shown at dinner with Patty drinking liquor without giving a damb.
There was a scene where she was talking to Patty in Rayah’s bedroom, and her eyes looked like mine. They were super low (looking like -_-) and her speech was all slurred. She could barely form sentences. Homegirl was high as a KITE! I just kept going wowwwwwww. It reminded me of the time Wendy Williams interviewed Nippy and went “Whitney, you high right now.” 🙁
I’m pretty sure I won’t be tuning in to next week’s episode of The Houstons because it makes me uncomfortable. This isn’t ratchet TV like LHHATL. This feels like I’m eavesdropping on an ongoing family meeting where everyone wants to cry but they keep swallowing the tears away. This is me:
I think it was too soon.
I wonder what made them agree to do this. And I’m even more surprised that Cissy joined in. Folks tell me she seemed reluctant when she was interviewed on The View, but she chose to go along with her family. Still… what was the reason behind doing this show? I wanna know.
Any Houston-family reality show is gonna spell disaster at this point. This is giving me Being Bobby Brown flashbacks and we all know how that was.
Did y’all watch the show? Whatchu think?
P.S. I didn’t e’em talk about how everyone’s weave is busted on that show. GAHT. ATL is the mecca of weave. They coulda been hooked up better than that but I digress.
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21 Comments
I didnt watch and from what I read in mt feed on FB last night, Im glad I didnt smh
I thought the poor girl was slow not even realizing the was just nodding. She look like she on some pills for real. This show should have included Dr. Drew. Only way Ima continue to watch is if they add him. The whole time I was watching I had little pains in my heart. Which was almost forgotten every time I looked too long and Krissy’s baby hair pushed back in that horrible weave.
*at Krissy’s baby hair, not *and
The show is a desperate, tacky money grab. Whitney was probably the sole source of all of their incomes. I know there were rumors that Whitney was broke when she dies, which I don’t believe, but her death has probably created a big financial void. Whitney wasn’t a songwriter, so the ability of her estate to continue to generate income is really limited (she doesn’t have that kitsch factor like Elvis to monetize). While she was alive she could earn money through touring, performing, producing projects, etc which was probably supporting the lot of them. With her gone, funds are going to dry up and relatively soon probably, especially with Bobbi Kris being the sole heir. Too soon indeed.
I didn’t see the episode last night (nor did I want to, to be honest) but I saw a special they had on Lifetime last week and Whitney was really the monetary provider for ALL of them. The only person who was making their own dollars was Cissy. Like Luvvie said, I would feel so bad for watching, like I was creeping in on a private family conversation/intervention (’cause Krissy needs one).
Not only did I not watch the show, but I deleted the rest of my DVR of The View with them on it as well after catching the first ten words. Yeah, it’s too soon & very uncomfortable.
Luvvie, I agree. I tried watching it, but felt really bad for them. Too soon to put this all out in public like this. I expect Iyanla to be a guest on one episode because there is some fixin’ that needs to take place.
Long time reader, first time writer. Ok, that show was a train wreck. Bobbi Kris was a disaster I wanted to drop a tear for her mother and her grandmother because while they’re tryna keep her away from Nick, they’re drugging together and it shows all over that girls face….her eyes, her actions, and that horrid hairhat…
I have not watched it, likely won’t because I avoid reality show nonsense. All I know is, it’s unfortunate that girl is too young for child services to get involved. She needs someone not related to this group to intervene before she needs a special episode of Intervention.
When the show was originally announced and received so much backlash, the family CLAIMED that they had already signed on for the show before Whitney’s death and that after she died, they change the show’s name…whateva! TOO. DAMB. SOON! I’m with you!
I heard that too. It might be the truth – did you watch the reality show about The Jacksons? It started filming shortly before Michael died.
I agree with all of this. They need to be in grief counseling. Did you see the picture of Nippy on the piano. I almost teared up at that. I don’t trust Pat at all. She seems to be a svengali with unreasonable control, but with no control over Bobbi Kristina at all. Something about her nature seems fake. Even with her interview with Oprah, I felt like Oprah was asking Pat to provide her with emotional receipts. I get mad when I see people with the lone tear of sorrow. They need to fall out wall slide something. Grief needs to be dealt with!! Bobbi Kristina needs to be in rehab. If her family is going to let her be reckless and drink and drug then she needs to be placed in a conservator-ship like Britney. Before godbrother/husband/boo get some business ideas for her inheritance.
I’m not here for Pat Houston, at all!!
Something about this show is making me think it’s all a ploy for them to get a hold of Bobbi Kris’ inheritance by pulling a Britney Spears.
Pat knows good and gotdamb well that BK had been drinking prior to her mom’s passing, yet she stood there shaking her head like agama lizard! chai.
Who ever signed up for this had very low thinking faculties.
As for their weaves, someone should’ve flown in Kim Kimble w/her thread and needles and put her to work.
I agree this show is way too soon, especially when trying to watch the scene at the grave site. Krissy definitely needs guidance, and someone with backbone and no ties to her family or ulterior motive needs to get with her asap! And who the hell is this Nick kid and where did Whitney find him? What’s his story?
It’s not like we didn’t see this coming. Krissy being involved in an arguably destructive relationship. Look at what her example was growing up. It took Whitney years to finally break that cycle.
The uneasy moment for me came when they showed up to dinner and she was clearly high as a kite. I guessed pills? Then to add alcohol on top of that. Meanwhile, the boyfriend seemed perfectly sober. I understand their both still young and doing dumb things that young people do. Because let’s face it, we’ve all been 19 at some point. But why isn’t he being some sort of voice of reasoning, to say Okay, you’ve had enough. Seems like she’ll listen to him faster than anyone else.
And don’t get me started on Pat trying to be all concerned. I’ve never really been here for her. I don’t know enough about her to trust her, but she seems shady. And if she’ll pimp and exploit Krissi’s problems for the sake of carrying out this show…
You’re right, Luvvie, it does all seem too soon.
The fact that Bobbi Kris was so bold as to even take swigs straight from the bottle in Pat’s living room and showed up to everything (her and Nick) flying high like an eagle tells me a lot. Like, she’s not scared of Pat and she knows she’s full of it and an enabler. Anyone in my family woulda taken off upside my head.I also suspect Bobbi Kris was enabled by her mom in more ways then one sadly. Did you catch that jewel that Pat dropped that Bobbi Kris was allowed to drink by Whitney? And that young man could give a damn about Bobbi Kris, he’s there for the check. They need to put a squash on her getting the payout on that estate for another few years.
Hey Luvvie, your website server has problems! When I click any link to it, I get get this error:
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Had to go through a proxy to be able to finally be able to view this page!
Weird!!! So. weird. Ummm… I’ll look into it. Thanks for telling me!
It is just sad what people will do for some tv time and fame. What have we come to as a society? For a family to have a loss as great as that turn their time of mourning into a circus act is sickening. Not everybody everywhere needs to be up a person’s ass watching them take a dump, watching them pick their nose or having an intensely personal moment. People need to know when to just call it quits and have some dignity for themselves and those around them. I am especially shocked by her own mother for agreeing to this ridiculousness and not understanding how mortifying it is or the lack of respect for a person who had a troubled life and lost it way too early.
I didn’t watch it but the consensus online seems to mirror your thoughts, Luvvie. When I first heard there was going to be a show, it kinda felt like a real life Rachel Marron vs. her sister Nikki from “The Bodyguard” story line. Not as in they wanted her to die, but now that she’s gone, we can all be famous, too. When Pat had her daughter sing on the Oprah interview…that confirmed it for me.
Didn’t watch. Won’t watch. I do hope that BKH has someone in her life who can and will intervene, soon. That young woman is on a collision course with crash and burn scripted all over. ::sigh::