Oprah Winfrey is facing backlash after claiming that Whitney Houston had relapsed by the time of her final appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” with the late singer’s estate firing back hard against the account.
Speaking onstage at Cannes Lions on Tuesday, June 23, after receiving the festival’s LionHeart Award, Winfrey recalled that Houston’s 2009 appearance — meant to showcase her recovery and promote her comeback album — took a dark turn. Winfrey said that when she had asked Houston backstage about her sobriety before an earlier interview, the singer said she was clean, but the day she came to perform in front of the studio audience, she was not, and fell off the stage.
Winfrey added that she asked the studio audience not to release any photos of the incident, saying she knew the story getting out would have destroyed Houston.
The claim was met with a swift and pointed rebuke from Houston’s estate. In a statement released through Pat Houston, who oversees the estate, the family confirmed the singer did fall — but rejected any link to drug use. The estate said Houston fell off stage during a soundcheck, attributing it to the darkness of the area and her unfamiliarity with the stage, and stated firmly that she was absolutely not high.
The singer’s hairstylist, Tiffanie Dixon, also added that it’s baloney for Oprah to have said this.
“It’s not true. She fell because they did not rope off the stage… I was standing right there,” Dixon said online during a live conversation with loyal Houston fan, Quencie Thomas.
The estate further acknowledged that Houston had faced personal battles, but argued it was inaccurate and unfair to attach that struggle to every performance or chapter of her life, adding that what the studio audience witnessed was the result of discipline, talent, and commitment, not assumptions others project.
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Houston’s longtime hairstylist, Tiffanie Dixon, also pushed back publicly, telling fan Quencie Thomas in a live online conversation that the fall happened because the stage wasn’t properly roped off, insisting she was standing right there and maintaining that Houston was not under the influence at the time.
A source close to the situation told Page Six that Houston was “not on drugs” that day and described her as “very happy.” Adding further scrutiny to Winfrey’s version of events, veteran entertainment journalist Roger Friedman of Showbiz411 pointed to a 2021 Zoom conversation with music executive Clive Davis, in which Winfrey herself reportedly said it was not drugs that caused Houston to slip.
Houston’s September 2009 appearance was a two-part interview marking the premiere of Winfrey’s new season, during which the singer discussed her recovery from addiction and her divorce from Bobby Brown while promoting her final studio album, “I Look to You.”
As of now, Winfrey has not publicly responded to the estate’s statement.