“Whitney: Can I Be Me” debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival Wednesday night, and it resurrected speculation that Whitney Houston had a thing for her best friend and assistant Robyn Crawford.
“I don’t think she was gay, I think she was bisexual,” stylist Ellin Lavar said during the film, according to People. “Robyn provided a safe place for her … in that Whitney found safety and solace.”
“Robyn and Whitney were like twins,” security personnel Kevin Ammons said, also reportedly during the film. “They were inseparable. They had a bond and Bobby Brown could never remove Robyn. He wanted to be the man in the relationship.”
Former bodyguard David Roberts said that Crawford and Brown would “battle for her affections,” but it all came crashing down in 1999 when Crawford left the 1999 “My Love Is Your Love” world tour.
“That was the downfall of Whitney. Robyn was the person who was keeping her together,” Lavar said.
The allegations aren’t new. Houston and Crawford were surrounded by rumors that they were lovers, even after Houston was married to Bobby Brown. However, the speculation on Houston’s sexuality that the documentary showcases went forward without the approval of Houston’s family.
Brown and Crawford did not participate in the film, nor did her mother, Cissy Houston. In fact, the estate even tried to shut the documentary down, according to the Hollywood Reporter.