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Own a Piece of Whitney
by Josh Grossberg
Get ready for the greatest sale of all.
Whitney Houston may be free of hubby Bobby Brown, but not the cumbersome debts she racked up over their failed 14-year marriage. So to help pay off some $200,000 in outstanding bills, a New Jersey auctioneer is set to sell off a slew of the "Saving All My Love" singer's personal effects.
The fire sale of 400-plus items—including designer costumes custom-made for Houston by the likes of Donna Karan, Versace and Dolce & Gabbana, props, stage sets, sound and studio equipment such as speakers and mixers, furniture and tools—will kick off next Tuesday in Irvington, New Jersey.
Also on the block: some of Brown's music awards, a transparent grand piano purchased for between $300,000 and $400,000, various drum kits and keyboards, a chair dubbed "Whitney's throne" and even underwear, including a sexy black-velvet bustier with silver beading once worn by the 43-year-old diva.
"It's a warehouse full of stuff from her shows," Steve Newmark, owner of A.J. Willner Auctions, told the New York Daily News.
"The auction is open to the public, but only for qualified buyers," said Newmark. "We're probably going to combine a lot of the individual items, like the costumes. It's not for a teenage fan hoping to buy one of her trinkets."
Would-be Whitney artifact owners will have to ante up $100 to enter the building to examine the goods. And winning bidders must immediately deposit at least 25 percent of the auction price with Wilner Auctions.
Storage firm Speed of Sound had been holding onto the gear on behalf of Houston's company, Nippy Inc., since her 1999 My Love Is Your Love tour.
Jeffrey Campisi, a lawyer for the Speed of Sound, said that the company was forced to take legal action in May and obtain a court order granting permission for the garage sale after failing to receive about $200,000 in storage payments from Nippy since 2005.
Houston's publicist, Nancy Seltzer, said her client no longer had any use for the belongings.
"The auction house is selling off old equipment from past tours that she doesn't need anymore in order to fulfill a court order," Seltzer told E! Online.
Campisi said that under New Jersey law, any proceeds above the owed amount will go to Nippy, meaning Houston could still make out pretty well.
Since filing for divorce from Brown, 37, in October, the tabloid-hounded performer has been beset by financial woes, including the foreclosure of the Georgia mansion the couple shared and that served as the setting for the Bravo reality series Being Bobby Brown.
The suburban Atlanta home, which they bought in 2003, was sold off in a court-approved auction in November and is already back on the market, listed for $1.4 million on several real estate Websites.
She was also sued in November for allegedly failing to keep up with $1 million in mortgage payments and back taxes for her $6 million estate located in Mendham, New Jersey. However, she staved off the same foreclosure fate after paying off all debts she owed on the 10-acre property.
After a stint in rehab, Houston is currently holed up in Los Angeles, plotting her comeback. The entertainer recently reunited with mentor Clive Davis and is crafting a new album slated to be released on Arista Records later this year.
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