'The Bobby Brown Story' Biopic Was An Insult To Whitney Houston's Memory

September 6. 2018

“The Bobby Brown Story”

This week I saw the two part biopic “The Bobby Brown Story” which is about the life of troubled R&B singer Bobby Brown. The film had bad casting, was uninspiring and inaccurate. Namely, Brown left out items that made him look bad, such as the fact he used to beat his late wife, singer Whitney Houston. She spoke of the domestic violence while she was alive. There were also two incidents where others witnessed it as well. During one incident police asked her if she wanted to press charges and she declined.

Brown made himself and his-co producer, second wife, Alicia Etheredge, look like heroes and Houston look like the villain. They omitted facts such as Brown’s mistresses in Miami, Atlanta and Los Angeles, which upset Houston no end. They left Houston’s parents out of the film and their struggle to keep Brown from spending her $100,000,000 fortune, after he blew through his own $25,000,000 bank account. They also omitted the fact Houston once saved Brown’s $2,000,000 mansion in Atlanta.

 Brown was spending millions per year. In fact, he spent most of his $25,000,000 in the space of 3-years. He bought two mansions, hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry, millions in cars, a recording studio and started a record label (Bosstown). Brown ended up having to sell the recording studio (to the rap group Outkast) and shuttered the label. Brown had signed too many recording artists and none of them had the sound or look that would make millions of dollars to keep the label afloat. Their music and images needed work.

“The Bobby Brown Story”

“The Bobby Brow Story” also focused too much on his marriage to Etheredge. The couple wed in 2012 and have 3 children. However, Etheredge had nothing to do with his main success in the 1980s, which made him a bigger star than his days in New Edition, which made him famous.

The movie spent more time on Brown's relationship with Etheredge, than it did on his interactions with Whitney Houston, New Edition, his kids and family in general. There was more in this film about Etheredge than Houston. Let that sink in. That was not a balanced approach to this story. When Etheredge's character would appear on screen, people on social networking kept asking who is that, because those who grew up with his story from the 1980s saw nothing of her until 2012 when they got married.

Etheredge is shown throughout the film, inserted in so many places that have no real relevance as to why he became the star he did in the 1980s or his controversial, attention grabbing years in the 1990s with Houston. This movie was darn near the “The Alicia Etheredge Story.” People shouldn't play with history like that. She had nothing to do with his success or fame.

Whitney Houston and husband Bobby Brown in the 1990s

The very negative portray of Houston comes across as Etheredge’s bitterness and resentfulness towards the late singer. Even the line Etheredge’s character states in the biopic in anger, “Do I look like Whitney Houston to you” was an insult to the late singer. There was no need to include something like that in the movie.

Etheredge is not greater than Houston, yet she tried to tower over the late singer in this movie, which drew massive criticism on social networking. Brown and Etheredge tried to rewrite history in so many ways. I only have one question, why did you two do that.

There are also some serious truths Etheredge is not looking at very accurately. Brown passed her over for a good 20-years. Brown went after singers Janet Jackson and then Whitney Houston. Brown was devastated when Houston left him. Even when Brown and Etheredge were dating during his separation from Houston that the late singer put in motion, Brown was still trying to get back with Whitney.

Bobby Brown and his second wife Alicia Etheredge

Brown only began dating Etheredge when Houston left him, he had no money, his career was dried up and drugs and alcohol had damaged his looks. Brown was sleeping on Karrine Steffans couch and she humiliated him for it online (which was not very kind). Then he began dating Etheredge.

Etheredge got rock bottom Brown, who needed her financial support and assistance re-launching his career to avoid homelessness, as most managers wouldn't take him on, due to his addictions and unpredictable, violent behavior. That’s hardly a love story. When a man chooses another woman, not just another woman, other women over you, that’s not love. I'm sure they can learn to love each other now, but it really isn't flattering that he had passed her over so many times.

Speaking of that, Bobby Brown exposed his secret relationship with Janet Jackson in "The Bobby Brown Story." He was taking credit for Janet where she had publicly denied him. It's clear he was quite smitten with her, but she was not serious about him. He gave her every reason not to be with his behavior.

In the 1980s Janet Jackson would pretend Bobby Brown was just a friend but she was secretly having sex with him

Brown blamed it on the Jackson family being colorstruck, due to dad, Joe Jackson (who died recently). Brown stated Jackson told him her dad would not let her marry a black man. While it is true that Joe gave his offspring a complex and to the point Michael Jackson and Janet got nose jobs. Janet was dating Renee Elizando at the time and saw him as more suitable than Brown.

Janet did not want a serious relationship with Bobby nor did she want to go public with him. Why? He was very promiscuous, flirtatious and out of control. She didn't want that type of embarrassment in her life, as it would only be a matter of time when stories about his bad behavior would hit the press (which is what ended up happening to Whitney when Brown kept getting into trouble or cheating).

Women don't want that kind of crap in their life, especially those with careers and a reputation. Janet knew the press and public would pry and in a heavily scrutinizing manner, because of Brown's many sex partners and erratic behavior, which created many a bad press quote. Brown was not reliable. Jackson knew he would let her down and embarrass her...which is what ended up happening to Whitney for giving him a chance (Whitney, whose judgment was severely impaired by drug and alcohol addiction). So, instead Janet used Bobby for sex then ditched him (much like he had done to the first two women he had gotten pregnant, then dropped them).

RELATED ARTICLES

Bobby Brown Blames Himself For Mike Tyson Losing Heavyweight Championship To Buster Douglas After All Night Sex Session With Room Full Of Prostitutes

Bobby Brown States The Jackson Family Are Color Struck And Prejudice In Conduct That Broke Up His Relationship With Janet Jackson

Bobby Brown And Mike Tyson Have Regrets About Blowing Millions Of Dollars