• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Winnie Harlow slammed by Whitney Houston fans for 'disrespectful' Halloween costume

Home> Celebrity> News

Published 15:36 31 Oct 2025 GMT

Winnie Harlow slammed by Whitney Houston fans for 'disrespectful' Halloween costume

The fashion model has been praised for her Whitney Houston-inspired looks before

Liv Bridge

Liv Bridge

Winnie Harlow has been slammed online for her Whitney Houston Halloween costume.

The 31-year-old Canadian fashion model is no stranger when it comes to paying homage to the late 'I Will Always Love You' hitmaker.

The iconic legend and Grammy winner tragically died at the age of 48 in 2012 after she was found unconscious in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton.

In the days before her death, fans grew increasingly worried by Houston's apparent 'erratic' behavior.

Advert

The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office ruled her death was an accident, caused by drowning alongside heart disease complications and cocaine use.

Winnie Harlow paid homage to the superstar this Halloween (winnieharlow/Instagram)
Winnie Harlow paid homage to the superstar this Halloween (winnieharlow/Instagram)

Harlow, who is clearly a huge fan of the late artist, has made several tributes to Houston for Halloween this year, including a remake of the star's 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' music video.

Dropping the iconic video on Instagram, she penned in the caption: "The woman who made us all Wanna Dance with Somebody. The icon, the Voice. Whitney Houston," before thanking her creative team, designers and assistants for bringing the vision to life.

Advert

However, while dozens of fans have celebrated the clip and praised Harlow for her likeness to the star, a second remake has apparently struck a chord with some viewers.

In the footage, Harlow takes on Houston's 2001 BET Awards look and can be seen lip-syncing to some of her speech as she accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award.


Advert

The moment hit home for fans at the time who had become increasingly concerned about the pop star's health, commenting on her 'erratic' demeanour and appearance.

Now, fans have slammed Harlow for recreating the moment, claiming it was a 'low point' for the late star to shine a spotlight on.

"Something about this seems very disrespectful to me. I don’t like this," said one on X, formerly Twitter.

A second chimed: "Her 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody' look was cute and tasteful...she should’ve kept it there."

Advert

Whitney Houston at the BET Awards show in 2001 (M. Caulfield/WireImage)
Whitney Houston at the BET Awards show in 2001 (M. Caulfield/WireImage)

Others said while Harlow's movements and gestures appear 'spot on' to how Houston appeared on stage, fans say it comes across as 'disrespectful mockery' rather than a tribute.

"Of all the several iconic Whitney moments, this is the one she chose?"

Another agreed: "She’s mocking her not at her best moment. Not only is it disrespectful it’s tasteless."

Advert

"Why did Winnie choose to recreate one of Whitney’s darkest moments? It’s bad taste and feels like a mockery," echoed another disgruntled fan.

However, many more jumped to the defence of Harlow, stating it's just a 'Halloween costume' and a bit of fun.

"Genuinely, what's the issue with this?" said another.

The model is clearly a huge fan of Whitney (PG/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
The model is clearly a huge fan of Whitney (PG/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Advert

"She seems quite energetic and nice, to be honest," a second weighed in about Harlow.

Meanwhile, a third joked they only have a problem with it because 'she looks exactly like Whitney Houston.'

Harlow captioned her Halloween post: "Youuu betta Lay Low!," in reference to the singer's speech.

"One of my favorite iconic Whitney moments," she added with crying and laughing face emojis.

Advert

UNILAD has contacted Harlow's reps for comment.

Featured Image Credit: winnieharlow/Instagram

Topics: Celebrity, Halloween

Liv Bridge
Liv Bridge

Liv Bridge is a digital journalist who joined the UNILAD team in 2024 after almost three years reporting local news for a Newsquest UK paper, The Oldham Times. She's passionate about health, housing, food and music, especially Oasis...

X

@livbridge

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

4 hours ago
5 hours ago
6 hours ago
8 hours ago
  • George Pimentel/WireImage via Getty images
    4 hours ago

    Dave Franco’s rare comments on brother James after he was ‘cast out’ of Hollywood leave people divided

    Dave Franco is the younger brother of '127 Hours' actor James Franco

    Celebrity
  • Elisabetta A. Villa/WireImage
    5 hours ago

    Jennifer Lawrence used ChatGPT to help with breastfeeding and people are convinced we're all doomed

    The Hunger Games star turned to the AI bot while suffering from postpartum anxiety

    Celebrity
  • Justin Laboy via YouTube
    6 hours ago

    Influencer slammed after claiming a man must earn a minimum of '$10 million' to date her

    Chinese Kitty explained why a man needed to earn so much to date her

    Celebrity
  • Noam Galai/Getty Images for WSJ. Magazine Innovators Awards
    8 hours ago

    Billie Eilish's net worth revealed after blasting billionaires to their faces during bold speech

    Is the megastar really putting her money where her mouth is?

    Celebrity
  • Heidi Klum's latest extraordinary Halloween costume has left everyone saying the same thing
  • Five must-watch horror series that will get you in the mood for Halloween
  • Child’s mind-bending Halloween costume is so impressive that people have no idea how he did it
  • Kourtney Kardashian slammed for launching NSFW lollipops for very intimate body area