TOPEKA, Kan. (CBS St. Louis) – The Westboro Baptist Church, a controversial religious group infamous for protesting military funerals and organizations sympathetic to homosexual rights, has just released a parody of Whitney Houston’s classic cover, “I Will Always Love You,” which implies that the singer is now in hell.
“If you had obeyed, you would not be in those flames,” begins the song called “God Will Always Hate You,” performed by a singer whose voice is not unlike that of the deceased musician. “Now you know that it’s so, God hated you, every step of the way.”
The church also plans to protest Houston’s funeral, scheduled to be held tomorrow in her hometown of Newark, N.J. Nearly 1,500 guests are expected to attend, including Stevie Wonder, Oprah Winfrey, Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin.
According to a PDF document on its official website, the Westboro church is protesting Houston’s funeral because of her drug use and status as a gay icon.
“God gave Whitney Houston a beautiful singing voice and a world-wide platform, which she should have used to encourage obedience to His Word and warn the wicked that their rebellion brings destruction from the hand of God,” the release states. “Instead, she used her talent to glorify herself, engage in sorceries [sic] … and cosy [sic] up to perverse (gays).”
Houston passed away on Feb. 11 of undetermined causes. She was found submerged in the bathtub in her Beverly Hilton Hotel room with several bottles of prescription pills reportedly located near her body.
In addition to “I Will Always Love You,” originally performed by country crooner Dolly Parton, Houston was also well-known for lending her booming voice to hits such as “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” “The Greatest Love of All,” and a stirring rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner performed at the 1991 Super Bowl.
