The star has only been dead for a week, but already her belongings are being sold
Clothes and jewellery belonging to Whitney Houston are to be auctioned off next month, sparking criticism that selling her possessions so soon after her death is in bad taste.
Items including a vest and pearl earrings she wore in the 1992 movie The Bodyguard are going up for auction on March 31 and April 1 as part of the Hollywood Legends auction, which will be held at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills.
WHITNEY HOUSTON: A LIFE IN PICTURES
Since the singer has barely even been dead a week, it's no wonder the head of Julien's Auctions has felt the need to defend the decision to hold the sale.
He told the Associated Press: 'It's a celebration of her life. If you hide these things in fear that you're going to offend someone - her life is to be celebrated.
'These items are historic now that she passed. They become a part of history. They should be in museums. She's lived a life and had a career that nobody else has ever had.
'For people who are fans of Whitney Houston and never would have had a chance to meet her and never got to talk to her, these are items that literally touched a part of her life.
'They are a way to relate to her or be a part of her life without having known her.'
Houston, 48, was found dead in the bathtub of her Beverly Hilton hotel room on February 11. Her funeral, held this weekend, was attended by stars including Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, Clive Davis and her co-star from The Bodyguard, Kevin Costner, who gave a moving eulogy.
WHITNEY HOUSTON'S FUNERAL
She was laid to rest yesterday next to the body of her father John Russell Houston Jr. - who died in 2003 - at the Fairview Cemetery in New Jersey during a private burial for just close family.
WHITNEY HOUSTON RETROSPECTIVE
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