Kevin Costner says he refused to shorten Whitney Houston’s eulogy for commercial break reasons

Kevin Costner reflects on his moving eulogy to his beloved “Bodyguard” co-star Whitney Houston 12 years later.

Appearing on the “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard” podcast, the 69-year-old recalled the pressure to properly honor Houston at his funeral days after his February 11, 2012 death.

“I praised him and I didn’t mean to,” Costner said. “When she passed away there was a steady drumbeat. You know, she had such a personality that everyone was talking about on the air. And it wasn’t my first instinct.

Costner said that five or six days after Houston’s death, he was told he needed to say something regarding her death. But it wasn’t until he received a call from Dionne Warwick, who was planning a memorial for Houston, that he felt able to speak.

“I could feel the weight on her, now it’s transferred to me. What am I going to say about this little girl? said Costner, before explaining the energy in the room the day of Houston’s funeral. “(I) went back to this church in Newark (New Jersey) and it was full. It was electric. There were two bands playing, the church was alive. It was like, boom! »

With “a bunch of people” filling the church waiting for his tribute, Costner recalled, “I really stood out. » While sitting in a row waiting for his turn, Costner said someone approached him to ask him to shorten his speech, which turned out to be 17 minutes long.

“Someone said, ‘CNN is here,'” he began, recalling their conversation. “They wouldn’t mind if your remarks were shorter because they’re going to have commercials. And I said, “They can get over it.” They can play the ad while I’m talking, I don’t care.

TODAY.com reached out to CNN for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

“But I came here when I didn’t want to speak and I didn’t want to do two minutes and I wrote this speech,” he declared, before adding: “I didn’t have the felt like the right person to go up there, but I did it.

Houston and Costner starred in the 1992 film “The Bodyguard,” which centered on a former U.S. Secret Service agent hired to protect a famous singer. Speaking about the film, Costner recalled the bond he shared with the “Greatest Love of All” singer.

“I don’t know what it was, but we had a moment and I realized the world had a better idea of ​​who we were, so I basically embraced it,” he said. “I was his imaginary bodyguard.”