Oprah Winfrey Reveals Audience Helped Hide Whitney Houston Stage Fall After Relapse

Oprah Winfrey said Wednesday that Whitney Houston fell off the stage during an appearance on Winfrey’s show after relapsing into drug use, and that the audience helped keep the incident out of the press. Winfrey made the remarks at the Lumière Theater in France, where she was receiving the Cannes LionHeart award.

Winfrey said she had great trust in both her audience and Houston. She recalled that the appearance was likely Houston’s last visit to the show, and that when she first interviewed her, Houston was sober. By the time Houston came back to perform before the studio audience, Winfrey said, she was no longer clean.

According to Winfrey, Houston fell off the stage, and she immediately understood that if the story became public it could seriously damage Houston’s life and career. She said she pleaded with the audience, which had cameras, not to release the photos. “And they didn’t,” Winfrey said, adding, “That would not happen today.”

Winfrey also said that before that earlier interview, she had stopped the cameras, gone backstage, and asked Houston what she wanted to happen. She described that exchange as one of the most powerful interviews she ever conducted.