Whitney Houston's Cousin Slams Kanye For Using Photo Of Her Drug-Covered Bathroom
Damon Elliott charges that West 'needs to check himself into a mental institution.'
May 26 2018, Updated 8:55 p.m. ET
Whitney Houston's cousin has slammed Kanye West to RadarOnline for using a photo of the late singer's bathroom, which showed drug spoons and other paraphernalia.
West shocked fans by putting the disturbing picture on rapper Pusha T's new album, which he produced.
As RadarOnline.com has learned, the iconic shot was taken by a Houston family member in 2006, at the height of the legendary singer’s drug addiction. Her cousin Damon Elliott told RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview on Friday, "It's disgusting and tacky. I've known Kanye for years and we've worked together.
"He needs help. He needs to check himself into a mental institution." "I Will Always Love You" singer Houston tragically died in an accidental drowning on the eve of the Grammy Awards in 2012—with coronary artery disease and cocaine intoxication as contributing factors.
Music producer Elliott, 45, the son of famed singer Dionne Warwick, said about West, 40, "This is a serious cry for help. Why would he want to hurt my family by dredging up old and painful memories?
"He's hurting us by using this painful photograph of Whitney when she was not in her best state. She's family, this isn't a publicity stunt. I want him to apologize to our family and change the album cover. He has no respect for me, Whitney or our family. This really hurts. I seriously thinks he needs help. This is not cool."
Rapper West, who did suffer a mental breakdown in 2016, recently spent $85,000 for the lurid photo for Pusha T's album "Dayton."
Elliott has said he had previously worked with West on a Keyshia Cole song, but didn't hear from West at all about licensing the photo.
After West shared the cover art on Twitter, Pusha T, 41, revealed how much the “I Am A God” rapper spent on the shocking photo.
“One a.m., my phone rings. No caller ID. He says, ‘Hey, yeah, I think we should change the artwork. And I like this other artwork. And this other artwork is 85 grand,’” Pusha T told Entertainment Weekly this Thursday.
“I said, ‘Hey, I don’t want to pay for that and I wasn’t even going to ask you to pay for that. We picked what we picked, it’s here, it’s ready,’” Pusha T. continued, adding that West told him, “‘No, this is what people need to see to go along with this music. Imma pay for that.’ I say, ‘You my man! You my man!’”
As RadarOnline.com readers know, West has been receiving much backlash over his bizarre behavior lately. Wife Kim Kardashian, 37, however, has stuck by him despite criticism over his wild Twitter rants.
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