Gospel singer CeCe Winans is sharing why she didn’t want to be in her friend Whitney Houston‘s music video for her cover of Chaka Khan’s 1978 hit “I’m Every Woman.”
Winans said that she didn’t want to be associated with the video because of its “demonic” lyrics.
Winans shared her feelings about the “ungodly” lyrics during a recent sermon, according to a report from The Neighborhood Talk. The outlet shared a video of the sermon on Instagram with a caption on March 1.
“Neighbors, get into this! Cece Winans had a very interesting take during a recent sermon where she preached about not indulging into things that are deemed ‘ungodly.’ This led her to give an example of a time she declined to be in the late Whitney Houston’s music video for ‘I’m Every Woman’ because she felt that some of the lyrics were “demonic.”
Winans was talking about pleasing God when she remembered a story about her dear friend. Houston passed away on Feb. 11, 2012, in Beverly Hills, California, from a combination of cocaine, heart disease, and drowning.
“I remember she was about to do one of her big videos,” said Winans. “It was, ‘I’m Every Woman’ It’s a great video, right? Really nice… When you think about how it was written, it’s a great song, right? But the lyrics don’t line up with the word of God, right? So, she knew, she said, ‘CeCe, I want you to be in this video, but I know you not gonna be in it’ and I said, ‘You’re absolutely right’ ‘cuz it started off with ‘I can cast a spell.’ I’m not singing that!”
Winans went on to say the message of the song was “wrapped up in the beats.”
“Y’all get hooked on to these beats, and it’s like demonic. You’re listening to demonic stuff and you wonder why you don’t know what’s going on.”
She went on talk about the devil and said that God says, “You’re either for me or against me.”
Some fans liked the sermon being served, while others clapped back at Winans’ comments.
One replied, “If y’all know CeCe then you know this is who SHE is and stands on it. That’s EXACTLY the reason for her not singing the song. Period.”
Another fan said, “They definitely don’t play when it comes to that stuff & my momma was Baptist so you know she was extra with it.”
“But that’s all y’all doing in religion is casting spells, especially in the church and doing rituals, so what do you mean?”
Winans and Houston collaborated on other music, including “Count On Me,” the theme song for “Waiting to Exhale.” Winans also discussed her relationship with the late singer and their collaboration on the song during an interview with “Entertainment Tonight” at her Nashville home back in 2021.
“Whitney and I were real friends, you know, um, and you hear that. People felt that,” she said of their collaboration. “And, um, I could cry now thinking about it. … She knew that when she need a break, she could come, and she would come to this house and chill out. She would go to church with me.”
