Bobbi Kristina Brown’s funeral is set for Saturday just outside Atlanta at the St James United Methodist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. But exactly how the funeral itself will go is being hotly contested between the battling Brown and Houston families. For now, the funeral will be a private event, but there will no doubt be legions of Whitney Houston fans on hand outside the facility as well as Bobbi Kristina’s own supporters.
With just a day and a half left before the funeral happens on Saturday morning, the families are combating over details from music to who will eulogize, who will get to speak or perform at the memorial, to the printed funeral program. Since Cissy Houston and Pat Gowan Houston hold the purse strings of the Whitney Houston/Bobbi Kristina Brown fortune, it’s likely they will have the final say. But the Browns could make trouble at the event, so they will also have to be heard.
Inside sources report that “things are constantly changing” when it comes to the funeral plans. And while Bobby Brown and his family may get some input into the Saturday Atlanta ceremony, they may not get much (or any) say about the burial arrangements or any graveside service that will likely take place there. Rumor has it that close family friend Tyler Perry is heavily involved in the funeral planning but even he may struggle to bring the two sides together peacefully.
Bobby Brown is not likely to take a backseat role in any of the preparations since he was so angry and unhappy with how ex-wife’s Whitney Houston’s funeral went down. Not only was Bobby banned by the Houstons, who also controlled that service, from sitting by his grieving daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, but a handful of his family members he brought along with him were turned away at the door. This resulted in Bobby Brown storming out of Whitney’s televised memorial service.
Bobbi Kristina’s service will be private and not televised, in contrast to her famous mom’s service, but the Houstons will likely not want a conflict if they can avoid it. What is clear is that Bobbi Kristina Brown’s fake husband and alleged attacker Nick Gordon is persona non grata at the service even as Georgia law enforcement is preparing to file charges against him for his actions that resulted in Bobbi Kristina’s death.
One thing the Houstons and Browns can agree on is that Nick is not welcome. The battling families are also likely united in their disappointment that the growing rumor is that Nick Gordon will not be charged with murder in the death of Bobbi Kristina Brown, but likely a much lesser charge of supplying her with drugs that led to an “accidental” overdose.
Even if Nick Gordon escapes a significant criminal charge, he still must face the hefty civil suit that Bobbi Kristina’s court-appointed conservator filed against him. You’ll remember that OJ Simpson skated by on criminal charges for killing his ex-wife and friend, but was found guilty in civil court of their slayings and ordered to pay millions of dollars in damages. Time will tell if Nick Gordon will face a similar outcome.
For now, war wages on in Roswell as the two families struggle to agree on how Bobbi Kristina Brown’s funeral service should take place. After the service, her body will be flown to New Jersey to be laid to rest beside her mother Whitney Houston at Fairview Cemetery. One has to also wonder if the family member that took a deathbed photo of Bobbi Kristina will try to sneak in a camera to the private funeral service to cash in one this tragedy once again.
CDL will keep you updated on this tragedy as more Bobbi Kristina Brown news develops.
Cissy Houston is seen attending the wake of her granddaughter Bobbi Kristina Brown in Atlanta, Georgia on July 31, 2015. FameFlynet
Pat Houston, friends and family are seen attending the wake of Bobbi Kristina Brown in Atlanta, Georgia on July 31, 2015.
Bobbi Kristina’s casket is seen being removed from a hearse and carried into the St. James United Methodist Church ahead of her funeral services on August 1, 2015 in Alpharetta, Georgia.