Whitney Houston’s Mother Questions ‘Unfathomable’ Abuse Accusations

Whitney Houston‘s mother Cissy responded to allegations in the new documentary Whitney that the late singer’s cousin molested her during childhood.

“By this statement we do not intend to defend, condone or excuse the crime of molestation.” Cissy Houston said in a statement to People. “We cannot, however, overstate the shock and horror we feel and the difficulty we have believing that my niece Dee Dee Warwick (Dionne’s sister) molested two of my three children.”

Cissy continued, “How I wish I could ask Dee Dee and [Whitney] what happened, but this film distinguishes itself from the other films about her by spreading rumor, innuendo and hearsay; leaving questions to which I’ll never have the answers.”

Cissy Houston also criticized the filmmakers behind the estate-approved documentary for hiding the molestation accusations from them, adding that they didn’t learn about the Dee Dee Warwick allegations until two days before Whitney premiered at Cannes. Even if the accusations are true, Cissy Houston argued, her daughter would not have wanted them aired in that way.

“Although she spoke about her struggle with drugs, the interventions, her daughter Krissi and issues in her marriage, she never PUBLICLY spoke about her father’s stealing from her or revealed any claim that she had been molested,” Cissy said. “IF she was molested I do not believe she would have wanted it to be revealed for the first time to thousands, maybe millions of people in a film.”

In Whitney, a “close confidante” of Houston’s discussed the conversation where the singer revealed she had been molested as a child.

“She looked up at me and says, ‘Mary, I was too. I was molested at a young age too. But it wasn’t a man, it was a women.’ She had tears in her eyes. She says, ‘Mommy doesn’t know the things we went through,'” the woman said in Whitney.

“If she was my daughter’s “close confidante” it would seem she chose to betray Whitney’s confidence by publicizing rumors and hearsay,” Cissy added. “Dee Dee may have had her personal challenges but the idea that she would have molested my children is overwhelming and for us unfathomable. We cannot reconcile the Public’s need to know about Whitney’s life as justification for invasion of her privacy or the charge against Dee Dee, a charge which neither Whitney nor Dee Dee is here to deny, refute or affirm.”