Her grooves are great

Before I say anything about Whitney's epic two-day interview on Oprah, let me get this out of my system:

 

Oh boy, is this woman amazing. Enthralled for the full two hours Oprah rightly devoted to Whitney, a lot of things came to mind, but nothing more forcefully than these two words: consummate entertainer. Her story of drug addiction, co-dependency, getting sick of fame to the point where she really thought that part of her life was over, playing her status as an icon down so as not to emasculate her husband, doing Being Bobby Brown just for his sake (but thinking it was an accurate portrayal of their dysfunction) and on and on and on -- it was all so compelling, and the way she told it only made it more fascinating. I didn't think for one second that Whitney was anything but entirely honest -- at this point, what does she have to lose, anyway? This was the specific counterpart to her vague (but good) "comeback" album I Look to You, and I'm seriously in awe of Oprah's skills. I guess you don't get to be Oprah by accident.

The only thing I was a little bit disappointed by was that Whitney dodged the question of whether she lost her voice -- she was always confident it was there, but she made no reference to the fact that it's no longer near the condition it once was. Oh well, her performance of "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" at least restored some faith in her ability to perform live after her disastrous showing on Good Morning America. I guess she has her good days and her bad days (and indeed, in the first part of the interview, taped just the day before Central Park, her speaking voice was thin and raspy). After all, she's only human -- that seems to be her primary message these days, anyway.

Oh, and fuck Wendy Williams for taking Whitney to task for "not owning" her addiction, whatever the fuck that means. Whitney did not appear on Oprah to discuss the addition gene, but the circumstances that surrounded her drug problem (and they had everything to do with Bobby), and she certainly didn't go on Oprah so that Wendy Williams could tearfully address America and prove that she's the better recovering addict. I loved Wendy up till this. It could be a deal-breaker for me. I think ultimately she's just salty that she didn't get the exclusive, and she's trying to force her way into Whitney's spotlight. What a pig. I think we all know the appropriate response. Ahem.

Anyway, I'm not going to recap the interview or anything, just rip shit from context for maximum hilarity, because this woman is really something else. First up is a soundboard of my favorite quotes from the interview:

And then below, some gifs. They are sooo necessary...

And useful! Instead of expressing e-disdain or Internet joy, just send one of these to the person you're trying to communicate with. The message will come through loud and looped.

Oh, and here's one of Oprah geeking out over Whitney:

 

Not gonna lie -- I can relate.

Comments

[Tommy]

Re: Wendy Williams - Amen.

[Modesto]

i keep replaying the, "i love you" audio while drinking a nice glass of wine and staring into those dilated eyes of hers in a picture i found on google... what a wednesday. (:

[Emyko]

These gifs will live forever, they are a gift to the internet.

[John]

That first gif makes her look a bit like Susan Boyle. Scary!

[spiffy]

Totally disagree with you about Wendy Williams, Rich. I'm disappointed that you'd resort to pulling the Jealousy Card to explain her reactions -- you don't honestly think her little show, which so far has only been able to book B-list guests at best, really has any chance of getting Whitney, do you?

I can't possibly take Whitney seriously -- if she doesn't have this new album to sell, I highly doubt she'd be doing this interview -- so I actually think she's got a lot to lose. Having said that, I would still wait for her songs to be remixed to death like every other good gay boy would.

[Libressa]

I have to agree with spiffy. I think Wendy Williams is a true Whitney fan and was deeply supportive of her comeback probably before anyone else. As a fan she has a right to her true feelings which Whitney doesn't seem to have.

Whitney's never been truly honest, not even at the height of her career. How do I know? I know because every so often thing's she's denied has come out to be the truth. She told some truths in the interview but she, like many drug addicts try to twist everything around so that they come across as just a helpless victim of circumstance. That's a lie, basically. People who've dealt with drug addicts see through this. I'm sure actual former drug addicts like Wendy would notice the same. As a fan, Wendy has every right to call Whitney on her BS. If Wendy truly felt disappointed and hurt by Whitney's not coming clean "enough", it's Wendy's right to say so on her own show. Wendy's done more on her own to promote Whitney's comeback than Oprah and hasn't heard one thing from Whitney.

I think Whitney still has issues and is just going trough the motions to please Clive Davis so she can sell her album and get her money. I don't think she has the same voice, but I think she's still got what it takes to entertain. I also like Wendy because she comes across as real. She's a train wreck, but she's funny and seems real. I like them both and wish them both success forever.

[Vanessa M]

I don't watch Wendy Williams but I do love the clips of her that on The Soup. Joel mentioned recently that someone from her show had contacted them about not making fun of Wendy anymore which I thought rather bullshit but then she appeared on the show mocking herself so I thought she must be ok after all. I don't think anyone watches that show for her perspicacious insights.

[sean]

Love Whitney, loved more that she used to smoke coco puffs, loved way less that neither W nor O dished anything remotely dyke-y (uh, duh, Whitney's gay, everybody...), thought Oprah looked frumpy. Poor thing.

Oh - and I can wait so long for Wendy....

[sally]

i was waiting and waiting for this interview to air...and it really came through for me in every way i was hoping for. rich, i knew you would be one of the only people in my world who was looking forward to it as much as i was...! loved oprah throwing her hands up, crying and singing along to whitney at the end...goodness!

[Faith]

...and i hafta say that spiffy and Libressa are one and the same, because the post fell so close together.

whatever...

I was not happy about Wendys comments, although i do agree that whit is not saying "I was a coke/crack addict, so there." but the thing is, everyone deals with shit in their own way and for anyone to attack a person in recovery...thats shitty of Wendy.

But Wendy is shitty, and that why a lot of people love her.

[I'm just sayin'...]

LOVE the soundboard, but none of those clips can even compare to "I WANNA SEE THE RECEIPTS!"

[Real Talk]

Hey Rich-I'm a first time commenter here, and really love your antm recaps and other insights. Anyway, with regard to the whole Wendy thing, I thought you might find this clip interesting. It's the first part of a three-part interview (you can find the rest on youtube) that Wendy did with Whitney on her radio show back in 2003. It's real entertaining, and you can see from the clip that Whitney lights into Wendy like I've never seen a celebrity do before. Whitney is very very quick and very bitchy with Wendy, perhaps being the reason why Wendy felt the need to call her out so publicly on her show for "not owning" her drug habit, whatever that means. Wendy got owned, plain and simple, hence her retaliation all these years later. Anyway, clip is below-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6_jjYFZypY

[s2couto]

You're wrong about Wendy (I don't even understand what place you went to or how to get there or why), but everything else is on point. Whitney's mannerisms are mesmerizing - she has charisma dripping from her pinky toe, she so fly. Ever after all the crack and evil eyes. :)

[Wookie]

Loved the interview! And Wendy's crazy so don't take anything she says too seriously people.

[Francis]

Brilliant interview. Despite everything bad she has done, I think she should be looked up to.

[bevskid1]

I am a true fan of Whitney - were are the same age and our birthdays are about a week apart, so I identify with her on many levels, except for the addiction to Bobby Brown and drugs.

Having spent years in music retail and getting some up close and personal encounters with many musicians, I learned early on that the image sometimes is just that - an image.

Whitney in the 80's and 90's was tightly managed by Clive and her father, John. Back in the day, it was clear that Whitney and her "assistant," Robyn, were more than friends; that she was not a hugely articulate person - truly watch the interview - Oprah is coaching and leading Whitney far more than she might with other subjects; and that she could be pretty evasive about answering tough questions.

That said, maybe she didn't outright admit to being a crack addict (many of her family members have drug problems (her brother, Gary; her cousin, Dionne) and marijuana is not a big deal to them. Chalk it up to the music business. Nor the fact that she has smoked up her voice. There were moments, but it is not the same voice - to be fair, it was never going to remain "bell-like" due to age and use. I digress, but I would be lying if I did not say how happy I was to hear her and see her sing - I was crying like a baby, because I really thought it would never happen and that we would be mourning her...I'm looking at you, Amy Winehouse. I was so enthralled, I watched both days of the interview twice.

Anyway, sorry I am rambling, but thank you, Rich for this post. The gifs are great.

[Kit Lang]

Love the gifs Rich and your thoughts on her interview. S'anks!

[jeru]

"I know I got that pre-nuptial!"
amazing gifs Rich!

[Steph]

Rich I love you for capturing all that I loved about the 2 hour interview.
I think the next step is for Whitney to do a remake of 'Lady Sings the Blues'. The whole story somehow felt very Billie Holiday to me in some way.
Anyways those gifs are AMAZING. Love you!

[Libressa]

Faith, I, Libressa am an individual that happened to agree with spiffy. Didn't know that on an open forum you lose your identity because you agree with someone and are rudely dismissed. How insulting and pompous.

Whatever...

I don't get why people are upset that some people don't buy into Whitney's BS. If we don't believe it, we are allowed to say so. I still love and root for Whitney, I understand that everyone reaches their moment of complete honesty when they please. I'm just saying I don't think she did it this time.

It's like she went for the high note (telling the full truth about the drugs)and her voice cracked (she blamed it on others). Some of us just called her on it. That's all. Doesn't mean we don't still love her.

No need for being angry at people for having a different opinion.

I agree with bevkid1, too. Does that mean we've morphed into one being as well?

[Miss Lisa Lu]

I find it strange, Rich, that Wendy offended you so when you just posted that recent clip of Whitney, obviously high, talking about Akon. I'm not sure I agree 100% with Wendy, but she touched on an important point--Whitney was not being honest when talking about her addiction, and Oprah let it slide. Whitney couldn't bring herself to say she smoked weed laced with *crack*; "rock cocaine" is all she said. I guess that would be hard to admit after the whole "Crack is wack, Diane Sawya!" incident, but I would have felt better about her honesty and her recovery if she had...

[CruntyOldMe]

On that last GIF of Oprah... check out the contouring makeup on her nose! Creeparific!

[Jerome]

Amazing how some people can't tell the truth about what television shows they watch and yet... She told as much as we needed to hear. How much blood do people want from this woman? Some won't be satisfied until she ends up like Michael Jackson which she so obviously is not going to do. She looked great. Admitted to some big mistakes in her life. And sang the sh*t out of that song. Thank you Whitney.

[Madison]

When the hell did you start getting Jezebel level comments of serious conceptual thought and brow-beating? Jeez.

[Jess]

Eh. The performance was just Ok. She commanded the stage, but her voice wasn't great. She even dodged the one big note in the song.