Rosie O’Donnell is adding another painful layer to the renewed conversation surrounding Whitney Houston’s final years, claiming she once tried to warn the superstar’s inner circle that someone needed to step in before it was too late.
During a recent appearance on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,” O’Donnell reflected on her connection to Houston after Cohen asked if they were friends. While Rosie said they were not extremely close, she made it clear she cared enough to speak up when she felt Houston was in trouble.
“I’m the kind of friend that always tells a friend when I think they’re in trouble, which doesn’t always make the friendships last,” O’Donnell said.
Rosie O’Donnell tried to help her friend Whitney Houston before the “beginning of the end.” 💔 pic.twitter.com/6o6C3DJWzF
— Page Six (@PageSix) June 19, 2026
The moment that alarmed her, she explained, came after Houston failed to appear for a major “Cinderella“ special on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show.” Houston famously starred as the Fairy Godmother and served as executive producer on the groundbreaking 1997 Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella,” which starred Brandy as the first Black Cinderella. Entertainment Weekly reported at the time that Houston pulled out of the scheduled appearance 45 minutes before airtime, citing illness.
“I did that. And to her people, I did when she didn’t show up for the ‘Cinderella’ full hour she produced—a big deal,” O’Donnell said. “I remember thinking this is like the beginning of the end and somebody needs to help her now.”
She continued, “Everybody gets lost in their life, and when you’re in the public eye, you get lost very nationally…but we can’t pretend we don’t see what we see.”
According to O’Donnell, Houston’s circle had mixed reactions. “Some of her people said, ‘Thank you.’ And some of them said, ‘It’s not your business,’” she recalled.
Still, Rosie said her intention was to protect Houston’s legacy. “As someone who cares about her and who loves her and wants her legacy to remain, I just wanted to let you know that this is doing her a disservice.”
The comments come just days after Oprah Winfrey said at Cannes Lions that Houston fell offstage during a 2009 “Oprah Winfrey Show” appearance and claimed she believed the singer had relapsed. Houston’s estate later disputed that account, telling The Guardian the fall happened during a dark sound check and insisting Houston “was absolutely not high,” adding, “We owe her the dignity of telling the truth—not repeating myths.”
When Cohen suggested that people financially tied to Houston may have had little incentive to stop the machine, he said, “If she stops and takes care of herself, they don’t get paid.”
“Correct. Exactly. Right,” O’Donnell replied. “And it’s very sad.”
Houston died in 2012 at age 48. Her death was ruled an accidental drowning, with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors.
