Whitney Houston's Kidnapping Ordeal Revealed

A recently published autobiography by an ex-New York gang member has made public a 1993 incident in which Bobby Brown was allegedly kidnapped and held at gunpoint, until then-wife Whitney Houston came to the rescue with a duffel bag containing a $400,000 ransom. While the two are no longer married, one wonders how in the world the marriage lasted 14 years following such an incident.

The book, Preacher of the Streets by ex-Preacher Crew member David Collins, goes into great detail about the incident, in which Brown was lured into an abandoned Bronx apartment after failing to pay a $25,000 drug debt. Once there, Brown was “knocked out with one punch,” only to wake up “naked and hog-tied, his mouth stuffed with a rag.” Brown reportedly begged for his life and assured the kidnappers that Houston could pay the debt. A phone call made to her sealed the deal – she was to personally bring $400,000 to the abandoned apartment to keep her husband alive. Collins claims Houston showed up the next day, in a wig and sunglasses, and dropped off the money.

Neither Brown nor Houston was injured during the incident, and the kidnapping was never reported to the police. Spokespeople for both Houston and Brown refused to comment on the kidnapping allegations.

All of this took place while Houston was at her career peak, less than two years after the release of The Bodyguard film and soundtrack, for which she is still most acknowledged. Her remake of “I Will Always Love You” was the number one song in the country for 14 straight weeks, and remains the third-highest-selling song of all time.

Brown and Houston finally divorced in 2007, after a 15-year marriage that was turbulentl to say the least. While married, Houston found herself in rehab not once but three times, welfare workers threatened to take custody of their daughter Bobbi, and police were called to break up domestic incidents at their home on numerous occasions.

Whitney Houston is currently in the studio again with music impresario Clive Davis, her former mentor. Her comeback album has been on the books for some time now, and the public is hoping to hear it later this year.