Bobby Brown sues networks, producers over Whitney Houston documentary

Headed to court. Bobby Brown is suing Showtime Networks, the BBC and the producers of a 2017 documentary titled Whitney: Can I Be Me? over the inclusion of footage of the musician and his children in the film, according to new court documents obtained by Us Weekly.

In the papers, which were filed on Wednesday, November 28, the “Every Little Step” singer, 49, is seeking $2 million over the use of what he claims was unauthorized footage of himself and his late daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, whom he shared with late ex-wife Whitney Houston.

“The film contains footage that Brown and BKB has never consented to have released,” the documents state. “Brown and BKB appear in the film for a substantial period of time, in excess of 30 minutes. The footage was actually recorded prior to the divorce in 2007 between Brown and Houston. Brown never signed or executed a release for the airing of the material that appears in the film. The footage of Brown is approximately 15 years old.”

The documents go on to allege that neither Bobby, Bobbi Kristina, who passed away in July 2015 at the age of 22, nor her estate signed video release forms before the film premiered on Showtime in August 2017. The papers also state that the documentary falsely credited Bobby’s company, Brownhouse Entertainment Inc., with providing said video clips.

Additionally, Bobby claims in the papers that he and his children did not consent the inclusion of videos featuring his son Landon, 32, whom he shares with Melika Payne, as well as daughter LaPrincia, 28, and son Bobby Brown Jr., 26. (Brown also shares sons Cassius, 9, and Bodhi, 3, with wife Alicia Etheredge.)

Though the former New Edition member concedes that he signed an agreement with two of the defendants in relation to his 2004 TV series, Being Bobby Brown, Bobby says that any footage captured was agreed not to be used in future materials without his explicit consent.

Houston died in February 2012 at the age of 48 from an accidental drowning and “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use” after she was found unresponsive in her Beverly Hilton hotel room.

Brown, who was married to the Grammy winner from 1992 to 2007, spoke about their relationship to Matt Lauer on the Today show after her death. “I think if anyone ever knew us, if anybody ever spent time around us . . . they would know how we felt about each other,” he said in April. “They would know how happy we were together.”