{"slug": "whitney-houston-family-slams-oprah-for-myth-she-fell-off-stage-high", "title": "Whitney Houston family slams Oprah for ‘myth’ she fell off stage high", "summary": "Whitney Houston's family criticized Oprah Winfrey for claiming the late singer was high when she fell off stage during a 2009 interview, asserting the fall was due to darkness and unfamiliarity with the stage, not drug use. Pat Houston, Whitney's sister-in-law and estate manager, called the allegation inaccurate and unfair, urging the public to honor Whitney's legacy with truth rather than myths.", "body_md": "**Getting your**\n\n[Trinity Audio](//trinityaudio.ai)player ready...Whitney Houston’s family is slamming Oprah Winfrey’s “unfair” claim that [the late singer was under the influence of drugs when she fell off the stage](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/24/oprah-winfrey-whitney-houston-fall-stage-relapse/) of the latter’s eponymous hit talk show.\n\nThe Grammy winner’s manager and sister-in-law, Pat Houston, who now runs her estate, on Tuesday [addressed the viral story](https://www.instagram.com/p/DZ8mNjrsxpk/?hl=en) told by the “Queen of Media,” 72, earlier in the day at Cannes Lions.\n\n“From the 2009 interview on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show,’ Whitney absolutely fell off stage, but it was during a sound check and it was due to the darkness of the area and unfamiliarity with the stage,” Houston, married to [Whitney’s brother Gary](https://people.com/all-about-whitney-houston-siblings-8720845), wrote on Instagram.\n\n“She was absolutely not high. … Like many people, she faced personal battles, but it is inaccurate and unfair to attach that struggle to every performance or every chapter of her life,” continued Houston.\n\nHouston added that the incident, which took place in front of Winfrey’s studio audience, “was the result of discipline, talent, and commitment” rather than “the assumptions others project.”\n\n“Whitney’s humanity included triumphs and struggles, but on that day, she showed up as the professional and gifted artist she always worked to be,” said Houston. “We owe her the dignity of telling the truth not repeating myths.”\n\nEmmy winner Winfrey alleged to the Cannes Lions crowd Tuesday that Houston “was clean” the day of their “powerful” interview — but [not at the time of the “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” singer’s last appearance](https://variety.com/2026/tv/global/oprah-winfrey-whitney-houston-fell-off-stage-begged-audience-not-leak-1236787965/) on the show in 2009.\n\n“She had gone back on drugs. … And she fell off the stage,” claimed Winfrey, per Variety.\n\nShe then recalled having successfully “begged” audience members not to share their photos of the ordeal, which would have “destroyed” Houston: “That would not happen today, I can tell you that.”\n\nWhitney Houston, who battled substance abuse, was just 48 when she died in Feb. 2012, due to an accidental drowning, attributed to the “effects” of heart disease and cocaine use.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/whitney-houston-family-slams-oprah-for-myth-she-fell-off-stage-high", "canonical_source": "https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/24/whitney-houston-family-slams-oprah-winfrey-story/", "published_at": "2026-06-24 18:58:33+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-24 19:12:11.470535+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-ethics"], "entities": ["Whitney Houston", "Oprah Winfrey", "Pat Houston", "Cannes Lions", "The Oprah Winfrey Show", "Variety"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/whitney-houston-family-slams-oprah-for-myth-she-fell-off-stage-high", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/whitney-houston-family-slams-oprah-for-myth-she-fell-off-stage-high.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/whitney-houston-family-slams-oprah-for-myth-she-fell-off-stage-high.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/whitney-houston-family-slams-oprah-for-myth-she-fell-off-stage-high.jsonld"}}