'You're hurting people': Whitney Houston's family livid at Kanye West album cover

  • 27/05/2018
Whitney Houston's cousin has criticised Kanye West for using a photograph of the late singer's drug-ridden bathroom as the cover for an album cover he produced.
Whitney Houston's cousin has criticised Kanye West for using a photograph of the late singer's drug-ridden bathroom as the cover for an album cover he produced. Photo credit: Reuters

Whitney Houston's cousin has criticised Kanye West for using a photograph of the late singer's drug-ridden bathroom as the cover for an album cover he produced.

The album in question is Daytona, the latest release by West's fellow rapper Pusha T, which came out on Friday (US time).

Houston's cousin Damon Elliott told People magazine he was in total shock when he found out.

"My daughter called, she was frantic. She sent me this picture from the album cover and I immediately got sick to my stomach because it took me right back to six years ago," he said.

"What were you thinking? Did you think this through? And if you did, why did you do this?"

"You're hurting people. It knocked the wind out of me last night. When someone passes, you try to mourn and move on and remember the good times."

Elliot says he wants West to change the album art and hopes for an apology.

"I just want him to tell me why he did it. What is the creative side of this? What's the point? It shows no creativity."

The photo was first published by the National Enquirer in 2006 and West paid US$85,000 (NZ$123,000) for the license to use it on Pusha T's Daytona

Pusha T told The Angie Martinex show West called him at the last minute change to the album cover.

Houston was found dead in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel in 2012 in an accidental drowning caused by heart disease and cocaine.

Newshub.