Tatchell says Whitney Houston was happiest with a female partner

February 15, 2012

Peter Tatchell says that Whitney Houston, who died on Saturday, was at her peak happiness when she was in a relationship with a “female partner.”

“Whitney Houston RIP. She was happiest and at her peak in the 1980s, when she was with her female partner. They were so loved up and joyful together,” wrote Tatchell.

“It’s important to tell the truth about this aspect of her life. Colluding with the cover-up of her same-sex relationship is not right.”

Houston, who died at 48, has always denied being in a gay relationship and was married to singer Bobby Brown from 1992 to 2007.

“My mother taught me that when you stand in the truth and someone tells a lie about you, don’t fight it,” the Daily Beast reports about her rumoured relationship with her personal assistant in 1987. “I’m not with any man. I’m not in love. People see Robyn with me, and they draw their own conclusions.

“Anyway, whose business is it if you’re gay or like dogs? What others do shouldn’t matter. Let people talk. It doesn’t bother me because I know I’m not gay. I don’t care.”

Tatchell recalled a time he met Houston in the early 1990s.

“I met Whitney and her partner at the Reach Out & Touch HIV rally in London in 1991, organised by Vernal Scott. Whitney spoke very movingly in support of people with HIV, at a time when many other stars kept their distance.

“She was pressured into the Bobby Brown marriage. It was a disaster. Her life started going downhill soon afterwards.

“Perhaps her inability to accept and express her same-sex love contributed to her substance abuse and decline?

“Whitney’s death is a tragic loss of a great vocal talent.”