Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Controversial Photo - 'Whitney: The Last Photo' Covers National Enquirer

I caught this story on #MyFoxNewYork News a while ago, it was chilling nitooto to say the least. The TV house made the report without showcasing the original cover of National Enquirer's photo of Whitney Houston's corpse, but they showed what you see here <---, a blurred one, so out of respect for her family as well, from my humble desk.. wink.. I won't be sharing the said cover tho it's everywhere online.. (Google will help). BTW, here's
how media houses in America
are reporting and reacting to the released photo..


The New York Post - A chilling photo of Whitney Houston dead in her coffin was published on the cover National Enquirer, alongside a bold headline 'Whitney: The last photo. There's been serious backlash since the photo was published.

The National Enquirer is under fire for posting a photo of Whitney Houston in an open casket at her funeral on the cover of this week's issue, along with the words "Whitney: The Last Photo! Inside Her Private Viewing."

In addition to many users on Twitter and Facebook lashing out at the tabloid for the cover, some websites have taken issue with the choice.
Perez Hilton has called the move "exploitation." A writer for the site proclaims, "We find it rather tasteless and crude. We just want to wish poor Whitney peace and her family all the time they need to grieve."

Meanwhile the site Gossip Cop is equally unimpressed, writing, "The National Enquirer frequently sets the bar very, very low. But the tabloid really crossed the line this week when it decided to publish a cover story featuring a photo of Whitney Houston in an open casket at the Whigham Funeral Home in New Jersey before her burial last weekend."

The website Daily Caller similarly opined, "Running an image of Whitney Houston’s lifeless body on the cover is pretty par for the course for The National Enquirer, but it’s still a bit much."
The Enquirer has not revealed how, or from whom, it received the photos.
It is not the first time the magazine has splashed a controversial photo of a deceased celebrity on its cover.

Last week, the tabloid's cover line read, "Whitney's Final Minutes." Underneath, a woman resembling Houston was laid out on the floor, face down, in a hotel bathroom in what was described as a "photo re-creation" of Houston's death scene.

In 1977, the National Enquirer infamously ran a photo of Elvis Presley on view in his casket. There years later, it did the same following John Lennon's assassination.

More on the story

Daily Mail UK - It is understood the photograph was taken inside the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark, New Jersey, where her family attended a private wake last Friday on the eve of her funeral. The magazine claims the photo was taken at the private viewing - although does not reveal who took the picture.

Carolyn Whigham, the owner of the Whigham Funeral Home, told MailOnline when asked for a comment: 'I have spoken with the family about this and they have asked me not to comment on the matter.'

Whitney - who died aged 48 on February 11 - was wearing jewels worth $500,000 and had gold slippers on her feet, according to the publication. The image - which was published in today's edition - has stirred a strong reaction on Twitter, with people expressing their shock.

'#wrong #rip,' wrote one Twitter user named as The Bitter Critter.

Another user of the social networking site, Eric S Pittman, simply exclaimed 'Oh dear' while tweeter Peter Anthony Holder wrote: 'No privacy for Whitney, even in death. As usual, the National Enquirer is a piece of work.'

The singer's funeral took place on Saturday and was attended by stars including Mariah Carey, Oprah Winfrey and her co-star from The Bodyguard, Kevin Costner. The star's on-off boyfriend Ray J was also in attendance.

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