Oprah reveals Whitney Houston moment she begged audience not to share

Brendan Morrow, USA TODAYTue, June 23, 2026 at 5:03 PM UTC

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Oprah Winfrey has revealed she "begged" audience members not to release photos of Whitney Houston falling off the stage at her show in 2009.

Winfrey shared the tidbit during a conversation at Cannes Lions on Tuesday, June 23, according to a video from the event shared on X by Variety. The mogul and talk show host recalled that the iconic singer "had gone back on drugs" when she appeared on Winfrey's show in 2009.

"The day she came to my show to perform in front of the audience, she was not [clean], and she fell off of the stage," Winfrey said. "I knew that, if that story got out that she had fallen off of the stage, that she would be destroyed by that. And so even though the audience was there, and the audience had cameras, I begged them not to put those pictures out because it would ruin her life, and they did not."

Winfrey pointed to this "amazing" story as an example of how she had "such trust" from her audience, though she added, "That would not happen today."

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Houston appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" for the last time in 2009, sitting down for an in-depth interview with Winfrey. At the end of the special episode, Houston also sang in front of a studio audience. After the performance, Houston shared a hug with Winfrey on stage, and the pair sat down to discuss how they had a "powerful connection" during the interview they had previously taped.

Whitney Houston performs during a concert at the O2 World on May 12, 2010, in Berlin, Germany.

In 2012, Houston, who struggled with substance abuse during her life, was found dead in a hotel bathtub in February 2012. She was 48. The medical examiner determined her death was the result of immersion in water and a toxic mixture of drugs.

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Winfrey was honored at Cannes Lions, where she is receiving the prestigious LionHeart Award, which according to the festival is given to "an individual who has used their platform to drive meaningful and lasting positive change."

Contributing: Maria Puente, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oprah Winfrey reveals Whitney Houston fell off stage at her show

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