Whitney Houston's mother 'shocked' over docu claiming singer's molestation

Whitney Houston's mother, Cissy Houston has lashed out at the makers of the new documentary "Whitney" over the "shocking" claims that the late superstar was molested as a child by Dee Dee Warwick, her cousin.

Two months since the film debuted at Cannes, Cissy has broken her silence on the claims made by Whitney's longtime assistant Mary Jones.

In the film, Mary says Whitney confided in her, revealing that as a child she had been sexually abused by Dee Dee. Whitney's brother Gary also alleges in the film that he was molested by Dee Dee between the ages of seven and nine.

Cissy told People magazine although the film is marketed as a Houston Family approved/endorsed project, neither her son, Michael, Dionne (Dee Dee's sister) nor she knew of the allegations of abuse, a direction the film would take, until two days before the screening at Cannes on May 16.

"To begin we want to state clearly that the horror of what victims of sexual abuse experience is unimaginable. We make no attempt to minimize the pain, the trauma and perhaps lifelong damage to the psyche of abuse victims. By this statement we do not intend to defend, condone or excuse the crime of molestation.

"We cannot, however, overstate the shock and horror we feel and the difficulty we have believing that my niece Dee Dee Warwick molested two of my three children," she said in a statement to the publication.

She said she does not agree with the "invasive" theme of the documentary that because Whitney was a "public person", people have the right to know anything and everything about her.

"She was a famous person a singer, an actress, a quiet but generous philanthropist. She wasn't running for office, asking for money or trying to win the right to run anyone's life. Her job does not entitle the 'public' to know every intimate detail of her life beyond what she herself revealed during her lifetime."
Talking about Dee Dee, she said, "Dee Dee may have had her personal challenges but the idea that she would have molested my children is overwhelming and for us unfathomable... When I was away... In all the years I traveled Dee Dee, who was 21 years older than Whitney, NEVER BABYSAT for them."