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Bobby Brown leaves Houston funeral after spat

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New Jersey, Feb. 20, 2012

Singer Bobby Brown made a brief and dramatic appearance at ex-wife Whitney Houston's memorial service Saturday, leaving abruptly after being told that his entourage couldn't sit together, police sources told CNN.

Brown accused security of treating his family badly and barring him from visiting with his daughter, an account that Houston's family vehemently denied, according to a family friend.

Brown was seen arriving with several people and had sat down in the front row of a section marked off for family, before being asked to move. Brown had entered the church with other mourners, separate from Houston's family. He appeared emotionally distraught, with red eyes and head hanging as he walked up the aisle of the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. He approached Houston's casket, passed it and went back down the aisle. Ultimately, he left the church.

Security workers appeared to ask others, including celebrities and government officials, to also change seats to make room for everyone.

"My children and I were invited to the funeral of my ex-wife Whitney Houston," Brown later said in a statement. "We were seated by security and then subsequently asked to move on three separate occasions. I fail to understand why security treated my family this way and continued to ask us and no one else to move. Security then prevented me from attempting to see my daughter Bobbi Kristina.

"In light of the events, I gave a kiss to the casket of my ex-wife and departed as I refused to create a scene. ... I will continue to pay my respects to my ex-wife the best way I know how," the statement said.

Brown was expected to attend with two guests but showed up with 10 people, a close friend of the Houston family told CNN on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

"The family approached Bobby and told him that he could stay in the area reserved for family, but that his guests would need to move to a different section to make room for Cissy (Houston) and the rest of the family," the family friend said. "Bobby said no."

When Brown refused, the family asked police to intervene.

"The police told Bobby that he could stay in the area reserved for family, but that his guests needed to move," the friend said. "Bobby said no, and left with all of his guests."

The family friend maintained that Brown was always invited to the funeral.

"There was never a question of whether he would be invited or not," the friend said.

Describing what happened at the service, the Rev. Al Sharpton posted on his Twitter account: "I am at Whitney's funeral. I spoke with Bobby Brown trying to calm him down and not distract from the services. Today is about Whitney."

Brown was scheduled to perform with his group, New Edition, later Saturday in Connecticut. Brown considers performing as therapy to get him through a difficult time, a source close to him said Sunday.

He and Houston were married from 1992 until 2007, with Houston getting sole custody of their daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, when they divorced. Their daughter was born in 1993.

Source: CNN

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