Whitney Houston's FBI Files Reveal Blackmail Plots & Bizarre Fan Mail

For the late Whitney Houston, being a pop star had its drawbacks. 

According to the Associated Press, recently released FBI papers reveal three investigations the agency conducted on Houston’s behalf, including an extortion attempt and two criminal threats by fan mail.

The 128-page document doesn’t contain any of the singer’s personal information, but it does detail an alleged blackmail attempt in 1992 by a woman who demanded $250,000 or else she would reveal “intimate details regarding Whitney Houston’s romantic relationships.” Although it was determined that no crime occurred, the FBI documents reveal Houston’s camp entered into a confidentiality agreement with the potential blackmailer. 

The file also contains fan mail that dates back at least two decades. In 1988, the FBI responded to a fan in Vermont who wrote that he would “hurt someone with some crazy idea” if Houston didn’t respond to one of the 70 letters he sent in a 17-month period. And in 1999, the agency helped protect the superstar from a Dutch fan who sent threatening audio tapes, claiming to be the “President of Europe” and the composer of some of Houston’s music. 

In all three cases, agents and prosecutors determined that no crimes had occurred. 

According to reports, the FBI files were released online yesterday in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.