# What killed Whitney Houston? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 12, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581 "2012-02-12T03:51:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/41 "2012-02-12T16:16:43Z")
> [@BeaMyra](#): > > Bobby Brown +1 Heartbreak. Trauma. Drama. I was always of the opinion that Bobby Brown took a beautiful, talented, and extremely sensitive woman as his wife & then chiseled away at her self esteem like he thought there was a Crackerjack Prize at the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/42 "2012-02-12T16:31:33Z")
Here is my WAG based on what very little we know so far: According to [this](http://www.tmz.com/), she’d been in the bathroom about an hour and was found dead in the tub, face under water, and her body was already very cold at that point. Presumably, she didn’t get in a cold tub of water; it was probably pretty hot at first, but water does cool down over time, so chances are most of the coldness of the body was due to the water. I’m thinking, though, that she probably died soon after she got in the tub, so she’d probably already been dead about an hour, which would also help with the body being cold, albeit slightly. I’m assuming she got in the tub by herself. If she’d been REALLY stoned, she probably wouldn’t have been able to do this. Based on other stuff I’ve read, she probably _was_ overdoing it on some kind of substances, though, but I’m thinking she wasn’t that far gone if she’d been left alone. So she gets in the tub. If she’s clearheaded enough to get into the tub without help, she probably wasn’t so out of it that she’d have passed out and drowned. If it wasn’t a simple OD (which is quite possible), my guess is either sudden cardiac death or maybe stroke - both can happen to anyone at any time, African Americans have screamingly high rates of both, and all those years of drug abuse surely couldn’t have been easy on her heart. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/43 "2012-02-12T16:37:27Z")
Why does everyone want to blame Bobby Brown? She was 30 years old when they married, a grown-ass woman. Just because she had some angelic image and he was the _bad-boy_ doesn’t mean he corrupted her. She made her own decisions poor as they were. I loved her too. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/44 "2012-02-12T17:12:07Z")
\*I \*think it was a skiing accident. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/45 "2012-02-12T17:26:33Z")
Not illegal drugs but prescription drugs, that’s how you die in Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/46 "2012-02-12T17:30:53Z")
Drowned in wine. [It’s a common mechanism of death for pop stars.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=548518) ---
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/47 "2012-02-12T17:35:03Z")
Quote: Originally Posted by Pablo O’Malley its informed speculation, which is good enough for fox news to report so why not us Oh, well, if it’s good enough for faux news… ---
**Author:** ![mkecane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@mkecane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkecane)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/48 "2012-02-12T18:17:35Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > \*I \*think it was a skiing accident. Pfft. No way. Car accident. Out of control driving by an out of control person. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/49 "2012-02-12T18:38:46Z")
> [@sco3tt](#): > > Colonel Mustard in the Billiard Room with a crack pipe. Don’t you mean Bobby Brown in the Billard Room with a crack pipe? ---
**Author:** ![Beastly\_Rotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@Beastly\_Rotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beastly_Rotter)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/50 "2012-02-12T19:02:40Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > And she’s paid the price in spades. Hate Speech! ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/51 "2012-02-12T20:23:45Z")
Paparazzi. ---
**Author:** ![sco3tt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@sco3tt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sco3tt)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/52 "2012-02-12T21:28:35Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Don’t you mean Bobby Brown in the Billard Room with a crack pipe? **BeaMyra** showed the Bobby Brown card earlier so I knew he wouldn’t be in the envelope. ---
**Author:** ![marklloyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@marklloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marklloyd)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/53 "2012-02-13T00:48:40Z")
There certainly -were- drugs found on the scene. Prescription drugs. There aren’t any conflicting reports on that. Is anyone under the impression that addicts aren’t using over-prescribed prescription drugs for non-medical reasons? Today’s modern, legal, prescription drugs are more deadly than any street drugs ever were, and have become the addiction of choice for the rich and poor. ---
**Author:** ![Pablo\_O\_Malley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f19dbf/32.png) [@Pablo\_O\_Malley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pablo_O_Malley)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/54 "2012-02-13T02:11:32Z")
everyone knows blacks don’t ski you can’t hold ski poles and a big radio at the same time ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/55 "2012-02-13T02:29:33Z")
I have rethought my previous post and I’m pretty sure I was wrong, but I’ve figured it out: OJ Simpson. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/56 "2012-02-13T02:42:48Z")
> [@Pablo\_O\_Malley](#): > > everyone knows blacks don’t ski > > you can’t hold ski poles and a big radio at the same time Is that necessary? ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/57 "2012-02-13T02:55:14Z")
> [@Pablo\_O\_Malley](#): > > everyone knows blacks don’t ski > > you can’t hold ski poles and a big radio at the same time Welcome to the SDMB, **Pablo**. If you want to make an offensive or tasteless joke thread, feel free, but putting this type of post in the middle of an unrelated thread is frowned upon here. Please refrain from making posts like this again unless in threads looking for that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/58 "2012-02-13T02:55:24Z")
Whitney killed herself with extremely poor lifestyle choices. She had several years to clean up her act after leaving Bobby Brown. Instead the party kept rolling on until she died. It’s sad that people around her couldn’t stage an intervention. But, that only works if the person is willing to accept help. It doesn’t sound like Whitney had any interest in stopping. > [@](#): > > The sudden death of troubled superstar Whitney Houston was a shock to many, but not to all. In fact, there were multiple reports that Houston, who had a long history of drug and alcohol abuse, was behaving erratically in the days preceding her death on Saturday. > > The Los Angeles Times reported that Houston appeared out of it at Thursday rehearsals for Sunday’s Grammy Awards telecast. The paper said Houston, 48, “appeared disheveled in mismatched clothes and hair that was dripping wet with either sweat or water” when she showed up to offer advice to younger singers Brandy and Monica, who would be performing on the awards show. > > Houston was also “skipping around the [hotel] ballroom in a child-like fashion and wandering aimlessly about the lobby” and was even “doing handstands by the pool,” the L.A. Times reported. > > The singer’s breath also smelled of liquor and cigarettes at that rehearsal, an unnamed source told the Associated Press. > > Later Thursday evening, Houston attended an R&B party at Tru nightclub in Los Angeles, where her legs were photographed with blood dripping down them. She also appeared to have scratches on her wrist. > **[Whitney Houston was in bad shape in the days before her death, reports say](https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/whitney-houston-was-in-bad-shape-in-the-days-before-her-death-reports-say)** > > The sudden death of troubled superstar Whitney Houston was a shock to many, but not to all. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/59 "2012-02-13T03:46:29Z")
I think we should check Claudine Longet’s alibi first. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581/60 "2012-02-13T04:30:48Z")
Whitney killed Whitney. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-killed-whitney-houston/612581.md?page=4)