Bobbi Kristina Brown did not have the honor of sitting with her father, Bobby Brown, as she attended the funeral of her mother Whitney Houston. While it’s no secret that many hold Bobby Brown responsible for Whitney’s downfall it appeared that despite their tumultuous marriage and subsequent divorce, the pair had respect for each other and shared in their responsibility for their daughter Bobbi Kristina. Just a few days before her untimely death, the family was seen exiting a restaurant after enjoying what appeared to be a nice dinner. However in the days following Houston’s death, Kristina has been hospitalized, twice, and Brown has been barred from seeing his daughter.
At the invite only funeral held at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, Brown reportedly arrived with 9 people. The church could not accommodate his group and they were not allowed to sit with the Houston family. Rev Al Sharpton unsurprisingly found time to tweet about the incident,
“I am at Whitney’s funeral. I spoke with Bobby Brown trying to calm him down and not distract from the services. Today is about Whitney!”
Bobby Brown has released a statement obtained by CNN and revealed he and his children, he has three older children and a two year old, were invited to the funeral but after being harassed by security and his inability to see his daughter, he left before the service began.
“My children and I were invited to the funeral of my ex-wife Whitney Houston. We were seated by security and then subsequently asked to move on three separate occasions. I fail to understand why security treated my family this way and continue to ask us and no one else to move. Security then prevented me from attempting to see m daughter Bobbi Kristina. In light of the events, I gave a kiss to the casket of my ex-wife and departed as I refused to create a scene. My children are completely distraught over the events. This was a day to honor Whitney. I doubt Whitney would have wanted this to occur. I will continue to pay my respects to my ex-wife the best way I know how.”
Update: Cissy Houston and Bobbi Kristina were unaware of the incident between Bobby Brown and security personnel during the service. Rev. Jesse Jackson clarified the incident to CNN, reported via Reuters,
“The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was in attendance at Houston’s funeral, told CNN that Brown and his entourage of “four or five people” (not 9 as reported) took seats in the front row, but were told that the row was reserved for family only. They were asked to move, Jackson said, but there wasn’t room at the invitation-only service to seat them elsewhere.
“That was a very difficult moment for all of us; we wanted him to stay,” Jackson said. “It seems they could have accommodated him better than they did.”
In another update, Rev. Al Sharpton who had previously tweeted about the incident took back to Twitter after the funeral to clarify his initial tweet,
“We are out of the service. I don’t want anyone distorting Bobby Brown. He has shown love and respect today. Stop hatin’.”
“Bobby did nothing but show love and respect for the memory of Whitney and his daughter,” he continued, “I spoke to Bobby, he said all he wanted to do was show respect and love.”
