VINCE BUCCI/AFP via Getty Images Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston at the Eighth Annual Soul Train Awards.
Tina Brown is the sister of New Edition’s Bobby Brown and the former sister-in-law of his ex-wife Whitney Houston. She is taking part in the documentary, Whitney Houston & Bobbi Kristina: Didn’t We Almost Have It All, on Lifetime.
She is expected to make some of the documentary’s biggest revelations and discuss her part in selling the infamous photo of Houston’s drug-covered counter. That image would go on to become the cover of a Pusha-T album.
Viewers were offered a quick glimpse in the Lifetime special’s trailer. She seemingly references past claims that the embattled star was sexually assaulted as a child, saying, “You don’t even know what this girl’s been through. When she was younger, she was made to do a lot of not so good things. It was sick.”
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These days, Brown keeps a pretty low profile. Most recently she caught dinner with her family, as documented on her sister’s Instagram account. While viewers will have to tune in to hear the full scope of Brown’s claims, here is what she has done most recently:
Brown Spoke out Against Claims She Made a Profit off Pusha-T’s ‘Daytona’ Album Cover
Kanye West paid $85K for Pusha T’s Whitney Houston “DAYTONA” cover art. t.co/bQS0c1h3UO
In 2006, Brown sold a photo of Houston’s bathroom to the National Enquirer. As the publication put it “Amid the trash, leftover food and empty beer cans are the tools of the hardcore drug fiend – pipes, rolling papers, spoons in which powdered cocaine is cooked into crack, lighters.”
The image got renewed attention when Kanye West licensed the photo for the cover of Pusha-T’s “Daytona” album. Pusha-T revealed on The Angie Martinez Show, as reported by Entertainment Tonight, that West made a switch from previously chosen artwork at the last minute, revealing licensing rights for the photo cost $85,000.
Bobby Brown slammed the move as “really disgusting” and “in really bad taste” during an interview with The Rolling Stone.
Houston’s estate also issued a statement to Entertainment Tonight, saying in part, “Even in Whitney’s death, we see that no one is exempt from the harsh realities of the world.”
Brown, who was named as the photographer in the National Enquirer’s first article, decided to speak out in an article with The Blast in June 2019. She wanted to make it clear that she did not make a profit and instead the National Enquirer received the licensing fees. She added, “the public attention and speculation, brought on by Kanye’s broadcasted purchase of that picture and usage have opened old wounds,” adding that she wants to know why he chose this photo.
But even in 2006, Houston’s former sister-in-law maintains it was not some big betrayal. “During the time the picture was taken, in 2006, my sister Whitney and I were at a very low and self-destructive point in our lives, it was not only her mess, it was mine as well,” she told The Blast. “Together, she and I decided to take the pictures in the bathroom and share with the world, the pain we were going through … it was a united cry for help.”
She also told the publication that the two remained close friends until the singer’s death.
She Was Involved in a Hotel Room Fight With Her Son in 2015
The Brown family was once again hit with tragedy when Bobbi Kristina Brown was found facedown in a tub. She later remained in a coma until her death on July 26.
The family took a break from visiting her at the hospital to get dinner for Bobby Brown’s birthday, reported TMZ. Whilst there, the family became heavily intoxicated.
They reported the dinner soon escalated over a valet ticket and Brown’s son Shayne called his mother a “crackhead.”
TMZ wrote, “We’re told Tina spit in her son’s face and cracked a bottle over his head — multiple punches were thrown … and one witness says there was ‘blood everywhere.’”
Three were injured, but no arrests were made.
Until now, Brown has stayed out of headlines since 2019. Lifetime’s Whitney Houston & Bobbi Kristina: Didn’t We Almost Have It All airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
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