Whitney Houston Puts Bras On the Block

Grammy-winning diva Whitney Houston is selling off hundreds of stage outfits and accessories, including intimate undergarments, at an Irvington, New Jersey, auction next Tuesday that could bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in welcome cash, the New York Post's Page Six reports. Among the items on the block are various bustier bras adorned with animal prints and sequins; four velvet bodysuits with "WH" logos, evening dresses, musical instruments, a slot machine, a leather whip and a chair described as "Whitney's throne" (late 90s-era crack pipe, evidently, sold separately). Also on the block? 16 assorted music awards of estranged husband Bobby Brown (Houston filed for divorce from her husband of 14 years last September). Though the New York Daily News reports that the auction is happening because Houston, 43, hasn’t paid her storage bills since 2005, Houston's rep, Nancy Seltzer, tells the Post that the sale of 335 items has nothing to do with money problems. "Many artists get rid of the old stage equipment and costuming they don't need any more. That is what is happening," she said. We know we should probably be most interested in Whit’s underthings decorated like bedazzled beasts of the forest. However, it’s the whip and throne that really stand out from the competition here. That’s how we like to imagine Whit: In a monogrammed velvet bodysuit on a gilded chair looking like a guest star on a very luxurious episode of Star Trek, riding crop in hand while playing the slots. After all, if you can’t be the Queen of your own Kingdom of Insanity, no one else is going to do it for you.