Bobbi Kristina’s funeral disrupted by Bobby Brown’s sister
INFphoto.com/INFphoto.comThe casket of Bobbi Kristina Brown arrives at the church for her funeral in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images
Leolah Brown, Bobbi Kristina’s aunt and Bobby Brown’s sister, apparently had an outburst that got her kicked out of the ceremony.
David A. Smith
Guests arrive at the funeral of Bobbi Kristina Brown at the St. James United Methodist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia.
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The bickering family of Bobbi Kristina Brown couldn’t lay down their differences even for a few hours Saturday as a funeral held for the only daughter of singer Whitney Houston and R&B singer Bobby Brown descended into chaos.
The somber, invite-only service at the Saint James United Methodist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, was disrupted by an outburst from Bobby Brown’s sister Leolah that reportedly got her booted from the church.
PHOTOS: Friends and family gather at Atlanta church for Bobbi Kristina’s funeral
“It’s not over. It’s just begun,” said a fuming Leolah Brown as tensions between the Houstons and the Browns continued to boil.
But Saturday evening, a woman stepped out of Pat Houston’s home, where friends and family had gathered, to deny there was turmoil.
Paras GriffinThe hearse carrying Bobbi Kristina Brown arrives at St. James United Methodist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Mike Zarrilli
A police motorcycle procession escorts guests to the memorial service for Bobbi Kristina Brown at St. James United Methodist Church on Saturday.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images
Actor Michael Jai White arrives at Bobbi Kristina Brown’s funeral service Saturday.
Paras Griffin
Singer Monica Brown arrives at Bobbi Kristina Brown’s funeral service.
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“There’s no terrible blood between the Browns and the Houstons,”said the woman, who would only identify herself as “a Brown.”
The two clans have maintained a fierce public squabble since the aspiring singer-actress was found unconscious in her bathtub on Jan. 31 and remained in a coma for nearly six months. She passed away July 26.
The funeral only added fuel to the fire. Leolah accused Bobbi Kristina’s aunt Pat Houston of scheming to make money off the 22-year-ancient’s death — leading to her mid-service meltdown.
“It was wonderful in anticipation of Pat started speaking and I didn’t like that. I walked out,” Leolah Brown said of the memorial Mass.
She said she yelled to Pat Houston while she was at the dais.
“I just told her that Whitney is going to haunt her from the grave,” she said. “She is being the phony person that she is.”
Security escorted her from the church and actor Tyler Perry helped cool the situation, TMZ reported.
Earlier, family members arrived at the church — just 8 miles from the townhouse where Brown was found — in a caravan of limousines escorted by a police motorcycle procession shortly before 11 a.m.
Jordan Strauss/Jordan Strauss/Invision/APBobbi Kristina Brown’s funeral was held Saturday in Georgia.
Kevin Mazur/AMA2009/WireImage
Whitney Houston and Bobbi Kristina Brown at the 2009 American Composition Awards.
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Brown’s body was carried into the massive church in a silver casket.
Mourners including Perry, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and R&B singer Monica.
One notable absence at the service was Bobbi Kristina’s boyfriend Nick Gordon. He pleaded with the families to allow him to attend, but was nowhere to be seen Saturday.
In late June, the court-appointed conservator for Bobbi Kristina filed a $ 10 million lawsuit against Gordon, alleging he assaulted her and took money from her estate without her permission.
Security was tight at the mournful event and police kept a crowd of well-wishers and neighbors gathered across the road.
A pair of women who said they were friends with Bobbi Kristina were turned away by the police.
“I was one of her best friends. I met the uncle, family,” said the woman, who would only give her name as L.O. “Half the people there don’t even know her. We hung out. We got our nails done. We did girly things.”
Brown — whose 22nd birthday came and went while she was in a coma on March 4 — struggled with drugs and alcohol as she lived the very public life of a celebrity child with two well-known parents.
The doomed woman was the sole heir to her 48-year-ancient pop superstar mother’s estate. But the bulk of the money is in a trust only available when she was to turn 30.
According to the will’s terms, family matriarch Cissy Houston and Whitney Houston’s two brothers will likely now inherit the estate.
Brown’s body is scheduled to be flown to New Jersey for interment Monday at the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, where she will be laid to rest next to her Grammy-winning mom.
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