Vanity Fair is doing a piece on Whitney Houston and sheds light on how the lesbian rumors that followed her throughout her career got started...
From Page Six
Former Arista exec Kenneth Reynolds recalls when gay rumors about Whitney Houston began 17 years ago.
In Vanity Fair’s June issue, Reynolds tells Mark Seal that a request Houston made for childhood friend Robyn Crawford to travel with her sparked gossip.
“Whitney had gone on a promotional tour without Robyn in 1985,” he says. “When she came back, we were going to the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters Convention in Washington, DC.” He adds that suits quietly bought Crawford a plane ticket, too, “because Whitney missed her.”
Reynolds told a colleague, “Don’t make a big fuss about it . . . all you need is a bunch of straight, macho radio jocks finding out that Whitney wants Robyn on the trip.”
But it stoked the rumor mill anyway. “Pretty soon the whole building was buzzing,” Reynolds says. “That was . . . when rumors about Whitney’s sexuality started.”
Houston and Crawford denied the rumors. VF’s Seal sent Crawford a package in hopes of an interview. It was returned with a note, “Refused...does not want.”
