Bobby Brown is not laughing at Chris Rock's joke about Whitney Houston.
Rock posted a viral meme over the weekend which featured an unenthusiastic Houston with the riff, "Me sitting in a meeting that could've been an email."
Rock took it a step further by adding a line that pokes fun of Houston's drug addiction: "Hurry up I got crack to smoke."
Houston died in 2012 when she accidentally drowned in a bathtub in Los Angeles from a combination of heart disease and cocaine use. Her daughter with Brown, Bobbi Kristina, died in a similar manner three years later. Brown, who was married to Houston from 1992 to 2007, fired back at Rock in the comment section, according screenshots obtained by Yahoo and The Shade Room. He wrote, "During this time of women empowerment you chose to use your time to try and humiliate our QUEEN!"
Brown added: "I thought you was a friend of the family."
Rock eventually deleted the picture from his Instagram account, but that didn't stop fans from questioning his "poor taste" and calling his quip at Houston "disrespectful."
"I was already disappointed in Chris Rock (who I've known for years) for finding humor in Louis C.K. & Ricky Gervais' use of the N-word. Now he's making fun of my dearly departed friend, Whitney Houston, on IG. Addiction is NOT a laughing matter," TV producer Elgin Charles tweeted.
"Not cool @chrisrock," user @Dina_Deens tweeted. "I was a fan & had respect for you! Now I'm just disappointed at your lack of respect to an Icon & Lack Of considération to her family & Loved Ones. It Ain't Funny Bullying a dead person Shame On You."
Last May, Brown slammed Kanye West for using a photo of Houston's drug-strewn bathroom as artwork for Pusha T's album, Daytona. West reportedly paid $85,000 for the
photo for Pusha T's album, who is signed to Kanye's GOOD Music label.
"Why would he post that on his album cover?" Brown asked Rolling Stone. "That's really disgusting that he would do that. That's in really bad taste."
Lorde similarly drew ire in April 2018 after posting a tone-deaf photo of a waiting bath, with the caption "And iiii will always love you" — a clear reference to Houston.
The New Zealand-born pop star later apologized: "Extremely extremely poorly chosen quote," she wrote. "I'm so sorry for offending anyone — I hadn't even put this together I was just excited to take a bath. I'm an idiot. Love Whitney forever and ever. Sorry again."
Rock is no stranger to pushing the limit. At the NAACP Image Awards in March, the comedian took aim at "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett over his high-profile case.
"They said 'No Jussie Smollett jokes,'" said Rock, who was there to present Outstanding Comedy Series. But he didn't hold back. "What a waste of light skin," Rock cracked. "Do you know what I could do with that light skin? That curly hair? My career would be out of here! I'd be running Hollywood."
Contributing: The Associated Press
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