Whitney Houston's mum expresses 'shock' over abuse claims

Whitney Houston's mother says allegations that her superstar daughter and her son were molested by her niece, Dee Dee Warwick, are "unfathomable".

In a statement to People magazine on behalf of herself and her niece, singer Dionne Warwick, Cissy Houston revealed they first learned of the claims two days before the documentary Whitney, by Scottish filmmaker Kevin Macdonald, premiered at Cannes in May.

In the film, Whitney Houston's longtime assistant Mary Jones said the singer told her that cousin Dee Dee Warwick molested her as a child and Whitney's oldest brother also claimed he, too, was molested.

Whitney Houston in September 2004. She died of accidental drowning in February 2012.Credit: Reuters

In the statement, Cissy Houston says Dee Dee Warwick may have had her "personal challenges," but the idea that she would have molested her children is "overwhelming and unfathomable."

Dee Dee Warwick died in 2008. Whitney Houston died in 2012.

Despite the film being approved by the Houston family, in her statement Cissy Houston hit out at its producers for "spreading rumour, innuendo and hearsay".

The magazine hits newsstands on Friday.

AP, Fairfax Media