Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody, the biopic about the life and times of Whitney Houston, premiered in New York City Wednesday evening where admirers gathered to honour the late superstar and the film’s release.
Actress Naomi Ackie stars as Houston in Kasi Lemmons-directed film, alongside an all-star cast: Ashton Sanders as Bobby Brown, Tamara Tunie as Cissy Houston, Clarke Peters as Whitney’s father John Houston and Stanley Tucci as the music impresario Clive Davis.
According to Ebony, attendees on the red carpet included the cast of the film, notable influencers and those who were once closest to Houston such as her sister-in-law Pat Houston.
The magazine reports that in a previous interview, Ackie spoke of Houston’s influence over her life and how the cast and crew strived to “get it right” with the film.
“She’s been elevated in my life for so long that it felt like an impossible thing to achieve at times,” she said. “But so many people told me the same thing: If I wasn’t scared and nervous, they’d think something was wrong with me…The biggest challenge was letting my fear of the magnitude of this task take a back seat. Nothing good comes from sitting in fear for too long.”
