Clive Davis said his protégé, Whitney Houston, made a “valiant effort” to quit drugs, smoking and alcohol in the months leading up to her death in 2012.
In an interview with Page Six, Davis, now 90, recalled spending time with Houston in the days leading up to her death.
The singer was found dead in the bathtub of her Beverly Hilton Hotel suite on the eve of the 2012 Grammy Awards.
Davis, a legendary music producer and A&R executive who revolutionized the music industry, was her closest.
Clive Davis and Whitney Houston in 2009, three years before her death. He says she made a “valiant effort” to give up drugs, e.g
“I was with her 48 hours before she died. It never occurred to me that she would die two days later.
“She showed me what she did in rehab. How she gave up smoking, how she got rid of nicotine.
“And she wanted to start going into the studio … I never thought 48 hours before she died that she was going to die, that there would be this horrible, untimely end to her life.
“She made a valiant effort to quit drugs and rehab during this time,” Davis said.
Houston was found unresponsive in the bathtub of the suite she stayed in at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Her death was ruled an accidental drowning following a heart attack.
She had trace amounts of cocaine in her system, which a coroner said contributed to her death.
Houston was found unresponsive in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 2012. She had cocaine and Xanax in her system, which contributed to heart failure and caused her to drown in the tub
Houston is pictured two days before her death on February 9, 2012. She struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for years
The singer had battled drug and alcohol addiction for years and struggled with her sexuality amid a tumultuous marriage to Bobby Brown.
Her life is re-examined in a new biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, which premiered this weekend to mixed reviews.
Davis co-produced the film.
He told Page Six that it “answers any questions” fans might still have about Houston, a “one-off singer.”
“Whether it’s her sexuality, whether she’s responded to insinuations that she wasn’t singing black enough, or whether it was the effects of drugs, or whether it was recorded with me.”
Houston with her husband Bobby Brown. The couple had a tumultuous marriage rooted in addiction
The new Houston biopic also explores her relationship with friend Robyn Crawford, with whom she had a romantic affair as a teenager
Three years after her death, Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina was found dead in a bathtub in circumstances similar to her mother’s. She was in a coma for six months before being pronounced dead
Among the themes explored in the film is Houston’s relationship with his girlfriend Robyn Crawford.
The film suggests they had an affair when Houston was a teenager. Their relationship thereafter was plutonic, according to the film, which puts to bed long-held rumors it could last for years and throughout Houston’s marriage to Bobby Brown.
“The film shows very clearly that she had an affair with Robyn as a teenager, and then she said to herself, ‘This isn’t for me.’
“And that: ‘I want a home. i want marriage i want kids I don’t want a life and death fight with my parents. It’s against my religion. I want you to be my best friend.” Davis explained.
“And those were the terms. I mean, it lists men she had affairs with way before Bobby.
Davis with actor Stanley Tucci, who plays him in new biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody
“She was clearly attracted to men and was straight. In her adult life, it was not an issue in her marriage. She wasn’t sexually frustrated with Bobby. She was very attracted to a mutually self-destructive relationship, maybe too attracted, but she wasn’t frustrated.’
Crawford has opened up in the past how the couple was romantically involved but how they had to crush their romance because of Whitney’s rising star.
In a separate interview with Vanity Fair, Davis said he wanted to help produce the biopic because he was dissatisfied with previous documentaries and films about the singer.
“The film is bold and honest – and it really stands out musically. It really celebrates the unique artist that Whitney was,” he said.