Rosie O'Donnell is revisiting one of the biggest "what ifs" in Whitney Houston's life—and suggesting the people around the music icon failed her when she needed help the most.
Appearing on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, O'Donnell reflected on her relationship with Houston after Cohen asked whether the two had been friends. While O'Donnell stopped short of calling them close, she said she cared enough about the singer to sound the alarm when she believed Houston's struggles were becoming impossible to ignore.
"I'm the kind of friend that always tells a friend when I think they're in trouble, which doesn't always make the friendships last," O'Donnell said. She also revealed that she even reached out to members of Houston's team after the singer failed to appear for a major Cinderella event: "I did that. And to her people, I did when she didn't show up for the Cinderella full hour she produced—a big deal."
O'Donnell said that moment convinced her Houston needed immediate support. "I remember thinking this is like the beginning of the end and somebody needs to help her now," she said. "Everybody gets lost in their life, and when you're in the public eye, you get lost very nationally...but we can't pretend we don't see what we see."
According to O'Donnell, the response she received was mixed. "Some of her people said, 'Thank you.' And some of them said, 'It's not your business,'" she recalled.
O'Donnell said her only concern was protecting Houston's future: "As someone who cares about her and who loves her and wants her legacy to remain, I just wanted to let you know that this is doing her a disservice."
When Cohen suggested that people benefiting financially from Houston's career may have lacked incentive to intervene, O'Donnell agreed. "If she stops and takes care of herself, they don't get paid," Cohen said.
"Correct. Exactly. Right," O'Donnell replied. "And it's very sad."
The comments arrive just days after Oprah Winfrey found herself at the center of a separate Whitney Houston conversation. During an appearance at the Cannes Lions festival, Winfrey recalled Houston falling off the stage during a performance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, saying she believed the singer had relapsed at the time and that she urged audience members not to release photographs of the incident.
