Rosie O'Donnell Reveals She Tried to Help Whitney Houston Before 'the Beginning of the End'

Rosie O'Donnell tried to step in to help Whitney Houston before her untimely death. However, the former talk show host revealed that Houston's "people" were not receptive to her intervention.

"What a tragedy," O'Donnell told Andy Cohen during her Thursday, June 18, appearance on Watch What Happens Live!

When asked whether she and the "I Will Always Love You" artist were "pals," O'Donnell admitted they were not close.

"I think whenever we saw each other, we got along great. And then she did that movie with Penny [Marshall] and then she and I and Penny hosted SNL together," she recalled. "And that was wonderful. But, you know, 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."

According to Rosie, she tried to inform Whitney's "people" after the artist backed out of her scheduled appearance on The Rosie O'Donnell Show in 1997. The singer canceled just 45 minutes before airtime, which she was supposed to use to promote the Cinderella film that she produced.

"I remember thinking this is like the beginning of the end and somebody needs to help her now, right?" O'Donnell continued. "I mean, everybody gets lost in their life and when you're in the public eye, you get lost very nationally, and it's really difficult, but we can't pretend we don't see what we see."

O'Donnell recalled getting mixed responses from Houston's team, with some telling her, "It's not your business."

She then told Houston's people, "Well, 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."

Houston famously battled a drug addiction, often attempting to downplay the severity. During a 2002 interview with Diane Sawyer, Houston admitted to using marijuana, cocaine, pills, and alcohol, "at times."

"I don't like to think of myself [as] addicted. I like to think … I had a bad habit … which can be broken," she added.

Houston tragically died in February 2012. She was found unresponsive in a hotel bathtub in Beverly Hills, one day before the Grammy Awards. Her official cause of death was ruled accidental drowning.

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This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 12:18 AM.