Whitney Houston’s bodyguard defends her after Oprah Winfrey blamed stage fall on substance abuse

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Whitney Houston’s bodyguard has now come out in defence of her after Oprah Winfrey blamed her 2009 stage fall to illegal substances.

Winfrey recently during a Cannes Lions presentation recalled the late singer’s appearance on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show', three years before her accidental drowning death.

Oprah Winfrey claimed Whitney Houston was not clean on her show

The talk show host, 72, had shared, “The first interview I did with her, when we'd gone behind stage and I asked about her intentions, she was clean. But the day she came to my show to perform in front of the audience, she was not, and she fell off of the stage.”

“Even though the audience was there and the audience had cameras, I begged them not to put those pictures up because it would ruin her life, and they did not,” she added.

Whitney Houston’s bodyguard says she fell because 'she didn't really know that stage'

However, now Houston’s bodyguard Ray Watson has claimed that was not the case. As per him, the actress, who died in 2012, fell because “she didn't really know that stage.”

Speaking with TMZ, Watson explained, “I don't know whether it was a sound check or they were actually doing a, I can't remember exactly what, when she fell, but, uh. She was coming toward the front of the stage.”

“And it's, it's a drop-off and it's sort of like a dark spot there. So when she got to the edge, I think somebody told her, watch, be careful, watch it, and then she went down.”

Whitney Houston laughed after her fall

The security man also further shared that the late icon even made fun of the whole thing and “was just laughing. She said, ‘I didn't see that.’”

Watson also denied Winfrey’s claims as he clarified that “I think the case was, she didn't really know that stage. And when she walked out there, she stepped off of it, stepped off the uh end. On to the next level.”

He, however, did not fully blame the daytime icon for her version. “From her point of view, she might have thought that she was. You know, I'm not downing nobody. I'm just saying that she wasn't,” he told the publication.

Whitney Houston's bodyguard thinks Oprah should apologize only if she's really sorry

When asked if he thinks Winfrey should apologize, Watson’s response was only if she meant it.

“If you don't really mean it, go on with it, because you know what? Whitney's not here to rebel. She's not here to back up what I say or she's not here to rebut what I say. So why talk about it?” he added.

Whitney Houston's estate asserted she 'was absolutely not high'

This came after Houston’s estate, run by Pat Houston, slammed Winfrey. “Whitney absolutely fell off the stage, but it was during a sound check, and it was due to the darkness of the area and her unfamiliarity with the stage. She was absolutely not high,” it claimed.

The statement further asserted, “Like many people, she faced personal battles, but it is inaccurate and unfair to attach that struggle to every performance or every chapter of her life. What the studio audience witnessed on stage was the result of discipline, talent, and commitment, not the assumptions others project.”