Every Little Step I Take

India Chapman
Sep 7, 2018 · 6 min read

The Bobby Brown Story part 2

For the second night in a row we gathered around to watch the next part of the Bobby Brown Story on BET. And for the second night in a row the things shown on screen were crazier than any of us could imagine. From the drug use, health scares and the sad ending, I knew the second half was going to be a whirlwind but I never expected this.

As I discussed in my part one recap, Bobby left no stone unturned for this bio pic. Or did he? Again I couldn’t help but notice the things that were omitted from this story. Such as the domestic violence charges against him during his marriage to Whitney Houston. I’m also finding it hard to believe that Brown wasn’t still doing hard drugs after his initial departure with New Edition.

Now I’m not giving Aunt Nippy a pass, we all watched her unravel during her battle with her drug addiction.What I am saying is when you have two addictive personalities mixed together like that things are bound to go to shit quickly. Last nights episode began the same way part one ended: Bobby Brown using drugs. They showed us how quickly recreational drug use can get out of hand. From the cooking of crack cocaine in their own home to Brown su having a stroke shortly after he was done cooking the crack; the turmoil the addiction both of our favorite stars suffered from was very real.

We also saw Brown going in and out of jail for offenses related to his drug use. One of the hardest things to see was him detoxing in jail. I’ve only heard of how rough the detoxing process is on a persons body. To have that happening while in a hot over crowded jail with subpar food had to feel like the third realm of hell. Luckily he had his cell mate as a support system as he literally threw up everything in his body calling for just one more hit so he wouldn’t be dope sick anymore. Woody McClain , the actor that portrayed Bobby Brown in this and the New Edition movie; acted his ass off in this whole movie but especially here. I’d also like to give the highest of props to the actress portraying Whitney Houston Gabrielle Dennis, she had Houston’s mannerism we had come to know and love down pact.

Once Bobby got out of jail you see the dynamic that many addict couples face, one person got clean and the other person is still using. Their heated reunion embrace in the limo went from flaming hot to sub zero as soon as Bobby said they weren’t going to do any more drugs.

There wasn’t much to laugh at during part two but baby when I tell you I hollered when I saw them remake the iconic scene of Bobby and Whitney dancing in that damn gift shop. Being Bobby Brown gave us iconic trash reality TV before Mona Scott Young could ever think of it. That man really put Preparation H on his under eye bags! I mean the jokes write themselves at this point.

What I also liked about this is we got to see the behind the scenes looks (at least from his perspective) at the backlash from the show. Being Bobby Brown was ahead of its time as far as reality TV shows go. Had this show been a thing now it would have incredible ratings. Unfortunately in 2005 the public wasn’t ready to see their fav’s act a damn fool on TV every week. We especially weren’t ready to see our beloved Whitney Houston shown as anything other than the good girl image we’d always saw. I remember watching the show live and the clear drug use in both parties was evident, more so in Whitney.

The two had a nasty argument about how Whitney was being shown on the show. Both Brown and Houston hurled accusations and digs at each other. Brown saying everyone started to hate him once he married her and Houston because her image was being tarnished for her association with him. The saddest part about all the arguing and fighting you see a young Bobbi Kristina hearing it all from her bedroom. As the story progressed the two stars broke up….well broke up is putting it mildly. Brown came back to their Atlanta home one day to find Houston, their baby girl Bobbi Kristina and all their belongings gone. It was finally the end of the marriage.

We see Bobby move to LA to keep performing and to be closer to his baby girl Bobbi Kristina. During this process he began a relationship with an old friend he met when he was young; who also happens to be his current wife now Alicia. As this new love kindled his marriage with Houston came to a bitter end as he was served with divorce papers. Alicia is portrayed as a loving and nurturing woman that doesn’t take any shit. Which seems to be the exact thing Brown needed to completely clean up his act.

At this point in the story everything starts to go wrong for Brown. His mother and his father passed within months of each other. And then the crushing blow that all of us felt all over again: Whitney Houston’s death in 2012. The news broke shortly after Brown had gotten off stage performing with New Edition. The phone call between Brown and Bobbi Kristina after she found out her mother had died had me in shambles. We forget that Bobbi was very young while all of this was happening around her.

As we relived Houston’s funeral Brown also showed us how him and his family were treated by Whitney’s family during this tragic time. I know grief affects everyone differently but to have you and your children thrown out of her home going service is heartless. One of the security guards even called Brown’s children his entourage which is bound to piss any father off. He also wasn’t given much access to Bobbi Kristina during this time, it felt as if the Houston family was trying to keep him away from his child. Fast forward three years to 2015 and the most tragic blow of all is landed: Bobbi Kristina’s death. Again we knew this part was coming since we saw everything in real time but to see the emotional turmoil Brown as a father had to face seeing his baby girl’s life end the same way her mother’s did had to be gut wrenching. I didn’t cry until they showed Brown sitting by his daughters side holding her hand trying to sing his favorite song Sly and the Family Stone’s “If You Want Me to Stay” to her. He could barely get past the first few bars of the song before he started to cry, the rest of his children in the room picked up the song where he left off as he sobbed by his unconscious daughters side.

So what are the take a ways from the Bobby Brown story, to put it plainly that man has lead one hell of a life. Whether you think of him as the king of rocks and blunts or as the actual king of R&B is your choice. What I will say is no matter your opinion of Bobby Brown’s life; he had a story to tell and gave us an amazing movie to do that just.Were there somethings that could have been done better and explained better. Absolutely. But at the end of the day he has given the culture timeless bops. As the great pelvic thruster in chief Bobby Brown said “ I could really care less about what they think about me, but at the same time, I do have something to prove.” Can’t wait to see what else Bobby Brown has in store for his career.

Written by

Lover of writing, trash reality TV, makeup and baked goods. I'm random but only in the best ways possible.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade