• by IPS Correspondents (pretoria)
• Tuesday, November 15, 1994
• Inter Press Service

PRETORIA, Nov 15 (IPS) - International singing star Whitney Houston has earned the ire of the South African media for her "arrogant aloofness" during her 'One South Africa Tour'.

"Just who does she think she is?" said South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) news-caster Anant Naidoo in Sunday's evening news bulletin.

SABC reporter Veronica van der Westhuizen complained in a news report that Houston had refused any interviews. After hours of struggling to get permission to attend Houston's concert in Ellis Park, Johannesburg on Saturday night, the SABC camera team was unceremoniously ordered by security guards to leave the grounds five minutes after they had entered.

The Afrikaans daily 'Beeld' described Houston as a "prima donna... a self-made god... a drama queen." The paper reported that the local media was treated in Houston's hotel "as if it was something dragged in by the cat".

Staff in the five star hotel were told not under any circumstances to greet Houston if they bumped into her in the passage. "Any breach of this instruction will be taken up and pursued vigorously with senior hotel management," it was stipulated in Houston's contract with the hotel.

Houston's publicity manager gave instructions that no photographer from any Sunday newspaper was allowed to attend the concert. The reason given was that their photographs "would be too late for publication anyway".

When Houston arrived at Johannesburg's Jan Smuts Airport last week, she refused to talk to the media. She smiled at cameras and only said that she had a good night's rest on the plane.

Local promoters have promised that future international stars will be less demanding. These include Roxette and The Rolling Stones.

Houston met President Nelson Mandela on the steps of Union Buildings in Pretoria last week. She started crying when the president praised her for her contribution in the country's struggle to be freed from apartheid.

Mandela dried her tears with his own white handkerchief. Houston said it was the greatest moment in her life to meet the South African statesman.

She said she had finally arrived in her "spiritual home".

But her sentiments were not shared by local journalists. (MORE)

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© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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