The funeral for Whitney Houston is open only to invited guests—who include Aretha Franklin, Kevin Costner, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey, and Stevie Wonder so far—but the public will get a chance to observe the services through a livestream. The AP will broadcast the funeral at http://livestream.com/aplive: "It will provide a much-needed connection for fans who have lacked a formal place to eulogize Houston, one of the world's best-selling artists who died in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Saturday at the age of 48."
Details about the funeral, scheduled for Saturday, have been leaking out: Kevin Costner, her bodyguard co-star, will speak as will her mentor Clive Davis. Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder will perform, according to reports. Others guests expected are Elton John, Bill Cosby, David Bowie, and Chaka Khan.
Houston's cause of death has not been released yet; it's believed that she was taking prescription drugs before she was found unconscious in her bathtub at a Beverly Hilton suite on Saturday. NJ Governor Chris Christie has been getting flak for asking that NJ state flags be flown at half-mast in honor of Houston, noting that she "was an important part of the fabric, the cultural fabric of this state." But annoyed people Tweeted at him, "Whitney is no hero, she was a crack head who killed herself. Our flag is not to be lowered for a junkie." Christie replied, "Flag being lowered for her cultural contributions as an artist & New Jerseyan. Her struggles w/substance abuse r a diff topic."
The other drama around Houston's funeral involves ex-husband Bobby Brown. At first, it was rumored he was not invited because her family didn't want him; now it seems like he's going but he'll still perform with New Edition after the services. And the family is also reportedly worried Brown will try to get his hands on Houston's money via their child Bobbi Kristina.
