Robyn Crawford Describes Whitney Houston's Alleged Abuse by Bobby Brown

Whitney Houston's longtime confidant Robyn Crawford has detailed the alleged abuse the singer endured by her husband Bobby Brown in her new memoir "A Song For You: My Life With Whitney Houston."

Crawford -- who maintains she had a short-lived romantic relationship with Houston after meeting in 1980 -- said she witnessed Houston descend into a world of "chaos and isolation" during her time with the New Edition alum.

"I saw and heard him speak to her in ways that were demeaning and talk down to her. That [would] not make me feel good if someone was talking to me that way," she wrote in her book.

But verbal abuse wasn't the worst of Houston's problems, according to Crawford.

Crawford said she hoped Houston had finally found peace and happiness when she walked down the aisle with Brown back in 1989, but Crawford's wish was quickly diminished when there were rumors of problems during the honeymoon cruise.

"A few days into the honeymoon, I heard talk around the office about an altercation between Whitney and Bobby," wrote Crawford.

"Someone on the yacht had placed a call to [Whitney's father] John Houston telling him that something had gone down, and when the lovebirds returned, Whitney had a visible scar on the side of her face. The cut was at least three inches, running in a straight line from the top of her cheek down to the jaw," she continued.

"I asked [Whitney] to tell me what happened, and [she said], 'We had a disagreement. I threw a glass, the glass hit the wall, shattered, and that's how the cut happened. Couples argue all the time and it's never a big deal. Except when it's me.'"

Crawford had her doubts immediately.

"I did not believe her because it was a straight line and it took forever for Roxanna Floyd, who was her makeup artist at that time, to cover it up. And that scar stayed with her. So no, I didn't believe that," she wrote.

Brown denied physically abusing Houston during a press conference in 2018. He did, however, recount a time he hit her in his 2016 memoir "Every Little Step." But during a promotional tour for the book at the time, he told "20/20," "I've never been a violent man toward a woman ever."

Despite his claims, Crawford also recounted a story in her book told to her by Houston's longtime assistant, Silvia Vejar.

Vejar had traveled with Houston to surprise Brown in Atlanta as he was touring with New Edition. Brown wouldn't open the door to his Ritz-Carlton suite when Houston knocked, but eventually he did, telling Houston he didn't "want her there" and spit in her face, according to Vejar's account.

"She took off down the hall in tears, Silvia by her side, Bobby following, cursing," wrote Crawford as she described Brown throwing a glass at Houston.

"Whitney grabbed the hotel phone to dial her father, but before she could finish dialing, Bobby snatched the receiver out of her hand, striking her on the head with it," wrote Crawford, recounting the allegations Vejar told her. "She screamed before sinking to the floor, head in her hands."

Crawford hopes people will see Houston in a different light, despite these alleged incidents and her tragic death of drowning in a bathtub at the age of 48 in 2012.

"I believe it is my duty to honor my friend and to clarify the many inaccuracies about myself and about who Whitney was," she wrote. "I feel compelled to remind people of her greatness, to lift her remarkable legacy."