Whitney Houston's bodyguard slams team for refusing to put her in rehab before death: 'She needed help'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: More than a decade after Whitney Houston's tragic death, her former bodyguard, David Roberts, is still outraged.
In his new memoir, 'Protecting Whitney: The Memoir of Her Bodyguard', the 73-year-old security expert accuses the late singer’s team of refusing to get her the help she desperately needed, choosing to protect her image over her well-being.
Whitney Houston's former bodyguard David Roberts slams her team for failing to prioritize her health
David Roberts, the real-life inspiration for Kevin Costner's character in the 1992 thriller 'The Bodyguard', never crossed the line with Whitney Houston but cared enough to risk everything for her.
RadarOnline has learned that he put his job on the line by calling out the people feeding her addiction.
"You and I should be sitting listening to her new records, but we're not, because it was allowed to happen. She needed help and was overwhelmed because of everything that was going on in her life, and her health did not come first," Roberts said ahead of his book's release.
He claims Houston's inner circle rejected the idea of rehab, fearing it would damage her "clean-cut" public persona. His frustration, he admits, turned to deep resentment.
"My anger and hatred towards those who had facilitated Whitney's ability to do this to herself was profound. Good heavens, I had talks with her team members about things. The argument back in the day was if one goes into rehabilitation, then one's reputation is tarnished," Roberts shared.
Despite his warnings, the 'I Have Nothing' hitmaker's struggle with addiction spiraled. On February 11, 2012, the six-time Grammy winner was found dead in her Beverly Hilton Hotel bathtub at just 48 years old, with cocaine in her system.
David Roberts' emotional reflection on being Whitney Houston's bodyguard
In January, Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston's co-star in 'The Bodyguard', posted a throwback photo with the singer on his Instagram for his 70th birthday. In the post, he expressed how lucky he felt to celebrate another year while honoring the memory of Houston, calling her death a loss of "such a light."
For Roberts, the memories of those days remain vivid and emotional. Though initially reluctant to take on the bodyguard job due to his lack of interest in pop stars, Roberts' role took him into the heart of chaotic, and sometimes dangerous, situations.
His career began in the Metropolitan police, where he was trained as a sniper. He was involved in the 1980 Iranian embassy siege and often worked to protect dignitaries. But when he was offered the position of protecting Whitney, he almost turned it down. He hadn’t even heard of her and didn’t feel drawn to the world of celebrity.
However, once he signed on, he quickly learned that the reality of protecting Houston wasn't just about managing her stardom. It was about confronting crazed fans, some armed and willing to go to extreme lengths.
Roberts explained that 'The Bodyguard' wasn’t far from the truth, citing real-life incidents of obsessive fans, including one armed with a rifle and another planning to kidnap her.
"The film did follow many of the elements Whitney and I went through," he said, reflecting on the bizarre, and sometimes scary, situations they faced.
