Houston Family Blasts Oprah Over Fall Claim

's family has vehemently denied 's claims that she once sweet talked her audience into not releasing footage after the singer fell off the stage mid-performance after she had allegedly relapsed on drugs.

The 72-year-old host had reflected on the influence The Oprah Winfrey Show had as she had claimed that her power of persuasion had saved the late singer, who passed away at age 48 in 2012, from public humiliation.

However, Houston's estate furiously disagreed with Oprah's assessment of the mishap and claimed in a statement on Tuesday that the late singer had not been under the influence at the time of her embarrassing tumble. 

Pat Houston, the late singer's sister-in-law and the head of her estate, pushed back on Winfrey's story in an Instagram post.

'Whitney absolutely fell off the stage, but it was during a sound check, and it was due to the darkness of the area and her unfamiliarity with the stage. She was absolutely not high,' Pat claimed.

While she acknowledged Houston's long struggle with addiction and substance abuse, she said that, 'Like many people, she faced personal battles, but it is inaccurate and unfair to attach that struggle to every performance or every chapter of her life. 

'What the studio audience witnessed on stage was the result of discipline, talent, and commitment – not the assumptions others project,' Pat added.

'Whitney's humanity included triumphs and struggles, but on that day, she showed up as the professional and gifted artist she always worked to be. We owe her the dignity of telling the truth, not repeating myths,' she concluded.

Before her untimely death, Houston (pictured in 1999) had been to rehab at least three times - in 2004, 2005 and 2011 - but struggled to stay sober