Winnie Harlow defends Whitney Houston-inspired Halloween costume choice: ‘People are more than headlines’

“She’s always been a queen in my house,” Harlow said amid the backlash.

Fashion model Winnie Harlow decided to use Halloween to pay homage to an R&B titan, but not everybody was feeling her look–or what the look was inspired by.

Harlow opted to be Whitney Houston to celebrate one of the world’s favorite holidays. In several posts uploaded to Instagram, Harlow decided to recreate several Whitney moments over the years, including the “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” video. But fan backlash came in heavy as Harlow uploaded a video portraying Houston from her appearance at the 2001 BET Awards, when she accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award.

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While celebs like Savannah James and Tracee Ellis Ross cheered Harlow on, fans called out the “tribute,” including one fan who thought it was insensitive for Harlow to portray Houston when the singer was “in the throws [sic] of addiction.” 

In a lengthy post on her Instagram Stories on Sunday (Nov. 2), Harlow said she wasn’t “mocking” the singer, who passed away in 2012 from accidental drowning, adding that the clip from the 2001 awards show “always” was one of her favorites.

“She was radiant, funny, confident and captivating,” Harlow wrote. “She was being awarded. The way she moved across that stage with flair and swag? Iconic.”

The 31-year-old model pointed out how big Whitney was in her household, to the point that not only did the BET clip become a thing, but Houston was also the reason for her namesake.

“My mother is one of her biggest fans and named me Whitney after her, that’s my real legal name. She’s always been a queen in my house,” Harlow wrote.

“People are more than headlines,” she continued. “A woman who could command a room, make you laugh & carry herself like royalty. If all you see when you see Whitney are her struggles, you’re missing her charisma, humor, talent, personality & wit. She was hilarious & magnetic. THAT is and what should always be highlighted. The light that made us all love her. Attention to positivity.”

Winnie Harlow on the Whitney Houston Halloween criticism. pic.twitter.com/1cPiuycwiL— ilovebeautifulwomeninallshades_ (@nikki07390972) November 2, 2025

In the years since Houston’s death, fans, peers and family members have remained protective of her legacy, particularly with the knowledge of her struggles with addiction. In Gerrick Kennedy’s book, “Didn’t We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston,” singer Brandy penned her thoughts on Houston’s death and why she struggled with wanting to blame someone for the death of one of her mentors.

“It’s natural for people to want to place blame. I placed a lot of blame on a lot of people too, when it came to Whitney,” Brandy wrote. “We loved her so much and needed something or someone to attach blame to because it was so hard to accept that she was gone.”

She added, “We don’t really have the right to speak on anything that she had to go through in her life. No one knows what she was running from. No one knows what she was trying to overcome. No one knows the costs that came with being Whitney Houston. That level of fame, that level of expectation, that level of pressure.”