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Whitney Houston's rep issued a shocked denial
today to counter reports that the singer/actress has died. In a statement, her publicist, Nancy Seltzer, said, "I've just spoken
to Whitney. She is perfectly fine and does not understand why, with everything going on in
the world right now, they have to find new rumors to dig up. She is home in New Jersey
with her family." |
Seltzer said people were calling
the singer at home and sobbing, after apparently having heard reports of her death over
the radio. According to the rumors, Houston had died of a drug overdose. Fans and the media have speculated about Houston's health after her
performance at Friday's Michael Jackson tribute concert at Madison Square Garden, where
she appeared shockingly thin, even skeletal. The singer then bowed out of the second night
of the concert without explanation, prompting heightened speculation about her health.
Houston has long been rumored to have drug problems, and
in Tuesday's edition of the New York Daily News which was evidently published
before horrific terrorist attacks brought the city to a standstill Seltzer denied
fresh reports that her celebrity client was on drugs.
"Whitney has been under stress due to family matters,
and when she is under stress, she doesn't eat," Seltzer told the New York tab at the
time.
Houston and her husband, singer Bobby Brown, have had a
history of drug- and alcohol-related issues, including possession of marijuana charges for
Houston in January 2000, which were later dismissed, and a 75-day stint in jail for Brown
in 2000, after he violated his probation (stemming from 1996 drunken driving charges).
ABCNEWS.com's Buck Wolf contributed to this story.
Sharon Knolle |