Whitney Houston was molested by cousin

Friends of Whitney Houston allege the singer was molested as a child by her cousin Dee Dee Warwick in a documentary that premiered Thursday at the Cannes Film Festival.

Houston’s longtime assistant Mary Jones tells filmmaker Kevin Macdonald that the late singer told her that Warwick, the sister of Dionne Warwick, molested her at a young age. Houston’s brother Gary Garland-Houston also says he was molested between the ages of seven and nine by a female family member, and says his sister was abused too.

Dee Dee Warwick, who was 18 years older than Houston, died in 2008.

The allegations were made in the documentary “Whitney,” which was made with the co-operation of Houston’s family. The revelations, which come about three quarters of the way into “Whitney,” immediately cast a new light on the troubled life of Houston.

The singer died at the age of 48 in 2012 from what was ruled an accidental drowning in a bathtub.