UPDATE: Bobbi Kristina Brown along with her uncle Gary Houston and his wife Patricia Houston, Whitney Houston’s manager and closest confidant, interviewed with the Queen of Media, Oprah Winfrey, just weeks after the alarming death of the Queen of Pop, Whitney Elizabeth Houston.
Seemingly, the family anticipated the need to usher in positive vibes, through their firsthand accounts of the icon, following the despondency and insinuations surrounding the uncertainty of Whitney’s death, especially awaiting concluding toxicology reports.
Winfrey’s network, OWN, will air the conflicting interview on a special episode of “Oprah’s Next Chapter” Sunday, March 11 at 9/8c.
As soon as the trailer began to hit airwaves, the struggling network of the media powerhouse was lambasted with interrogation of whether the once Midas-touch-of-media was in need of ratings so badly that she haggled the only daughter of the “I Will Always Love You” singer to flex her sagging television ratings muscles.
Who can forget: “Every 1 who can please turn to OWN especially if u have a Nielsen box,” the tweet Oprah had to render an apology (networks are prohibited for encouraging viewership per Nielsen ) for less than 24 hours after tweeting to her millions of followers.
“Despite programming expenses of $135 million in 2011, OWN drew roughly the same number of viewers as the low-rated channel it replaced, Discovery Health–whose programming budget was just $29 million,” according to SNL Kagan, which integrates online research, data and projections in real time for the media and communications industry, speaking towards Oprah’s struggles at her network.
While the unsettling time frame for the interview may be in haste, Bobbi Kristina exhorts her reason for agreeing to have a sit-down with Winfrey.
“Oprah was loyal to my mom, and never did my mother wrong, or made her look bad. She always looked out for my mom,” according to a friend. This friend also suggests that Kristina felt that loyalty would be passed onto her vicariously on the strength of Oprah’s respect for the late Whitney.
Bobbi Kristina is expected to share her personal memories of her mother and how she would love for others to remember her, while the family touches on the rampant rumors and insidious speculations surrounding the “I’m Every Woman” singer’s death at the Beverly Hilton Hotel nearly a month ago.
Others suggest that Bobbi Kristina, who turned 19 on March 4, is of age to decide whether talking to Oprah was fitting or not. Some advocate that the candid interview could make for an immense, integral process in midst of grieving considering the two, Bobbi and Whitney, were practically inseparable.
Bobbi Kristina suffered a mental breakdown with two back-to-back hospital admittances, according to reports, so speaking through what could undoubtedly be a stressful time could help her with facing such a traumatic loss.
While people deal with grief differently, it must be noted that celebrities and their family’s lives are much different than others, so what we may deem inappropriate may be in alignment with what is deemed apposite.
“The single most important factor in healing from loss is having the support of other people. Even if you aren’t comfortable talking about your feelings under normal circumstances, it’s important to express them when you’re grieving. Sharing your loss makes the burden of grief easier to carry. Wherever the support comes from, accept it and do not grieve alone. Connecting to others will help you heal,” according to Melinda Smith, M.A. and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D.
Meanwhile, there’s no word if Bobbi Kristina or any other family members were paid to sit down with Oprah, but the outcome of being the first to interview is sure to peak ratings.
Should Oprah have waited to secure the first interview with Bobbi Kristina? Or does Bobbi Kristina agreeing to the interview enough for your ease with the sit-down?