Philly’s Nafessa Williams stars as Robyn Crawford in a new Whitney Houston biopic

The actor, who calls 60th and Lansdowne her first home, plays the late singer’s best friend, manager, and lover.

Philadelphia-bred actress Nafessa Williams stars as Whitney Houston's lover, Robyn Crawford in Sony Pictures' biopic of the songstress, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."Read moreSony Pictures

Published Dec. 21, 2022, 6:00 a.m. ET

There have been several biopics and documentaries about Whitney Houston that have centered on the late singer’s addiction to drugs and her tumultuous marriage to Bobby Brown.

Houston’s best friend and manager Robyn Crawford is a featured character in all of these movies, but their alleged romantic relationship has never been a focus. Their romance was at best glossed over and at worst totally ignored.

That is until now. Sony Pictures’ I Wanna Dance with Somebody, the latest installment in the Whitney Houston biopic universe, explores Crawford and Houston’s love affair. The movie, set to hit theaters Dec. 23, stars Nafessa Williams, a Southwest Philadelphia native, as Crawford.

“This is the film about Whitney we’ve been waiting for,” Williams said in a recent interview about the film produced by Houston’s music producer, mentor, and confidant Clive Davis, directed by Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou and Harriet), and written by Anthony McCarten (Bohemian Rhapsody). “We get to know Whitney and fully see who she is,” Williams said.

We meet Houston (Naomi Ackie) at choir rehearsal with her difficult mother, Cissy Houston (Tamara Tunie). Cissy’s relationship with her husband, John (Clarke Peters), is contentious and the fighting disturbs Whitney. Whitney meets Robyn at a park in Jersey City and the two click romantically. Their relationship blossoms alongside Houston’s career.

The night Davis discovered Houston at a West Village nightclub in the 1980s, he proclaimed Houston the voice of her generation. She became that. In I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Davis protects Houston’s legacy as America’s pop princess, an image he so carefully crafted. Her 14-year-marriage to Brown is treated like a toxic footnote, and her infamous 2002 “Crack is whack” interview with Diane Sawyer is left out.

I Wanna Dance with Somebody closes with a reenactment of Houston’s dazzling performance of the Impossible Medley — “I Loves You Porgy,” “And I am Telling You,” and “I Have Nothing” — from the 1994 American Music Awards. This performance, although one of her most important, is overshadowed by the drama that later defined Houston’s life. Davis doesn’t want us to forget its momentousness.

Houston’s love affair with Crawford, is celebrated in the film. Their relationship is so poignantly portrayed, we’re left wondering if Houston would still be alive if she and Crawford lived their lives out loud as lovers.

We chatted with Williams, who calls 60th and Lansdowne her first home, about this groundbreaking role, her passion projects, and how playing Thunder in Netflix’s Black Lightning prepared her to play Crawford.

Answers have been edited for clarity.

Robyn was such a major part of Whitney’s life, yet she’s often treated as an afterthought. Did you feel pressure to get this portrayal right?

I Wanna Dance with Somebody is ultimately, in my eyes, a love story between Robyn and Whitney. This isn’t the Whitney movie you think you’re coming to see. This is another side of Whitney that we heard whispers about and now it’s going to be revealed. It was a dream to give Robyn a voice.

You played Kim — a woman who had a child with Bobby Brown — in the 2015 Lifetime TV flick Whitney. How did acting in that movie familiarize you with this role?

I’m definitely grateful to the Whitney universe of movies. It’s dope to see her story from the perspectives of two different women in her orbit. How tough is it to be dating someone who is dating Whitney Houston. And now as Robyn, I was able to explore the turmoil between Robyn and Bobby in my own way. I really loved some of those scenes. Robyn’s narrative was: You are her man, but I am who I am, too. You can’t remove me. She carried that a lot and she should have. Whitney and Robyn were soulmates.

In Black Lightning, you played Thunder, who is considered the first lesbian superhero. How did playing her prepare you to play Robyn?

Playing Thunder has clearly served me. There was a similarity, a sensibility, and a sensitivity that I was able to roll right into Robyn. I know what it’s like being a Black woman in America, to be under represented in real life and in the entertainment industry. I am grateful that I am able to be a vessel for teenage lesbians who can see themselves in my characters. Hopefully we have pushed the needle and we are making enough waves for young lesbians to be comfortable, accepted, and loved for who they are.

How did Robyn and Whitney’s love affair reflect the title of the movie?

When you think of the song “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and know the full scope of their relationship, it’s easy to imagine that when [she was singing the song she was] talking about Robyn. She wants to dance with someone who truly and genuinely loves her.

Did you ever meet Robyn?

No.

How were you able to channel her?

There isn’t a lot of footage on Robyn, you don’t see her a lot because she really played her position in the background and I really respect that. She did write a memoir [A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston] that I read. And we are the same zodiac time: Sagittarius.

What have you learned about yourself through playing Robyn?

I’ve learned to trust that I have whatever I need to play the character. This role was really divine.

Next projects?

I’m working on my clothing line called Y-Fear: Your Fears and Egos Aren’t Real, that merges streetwear with mental health awareness. (The website describes the collection as a unisex lifestyle brand that isn’t defined by gender and doesn’t chase a demographic.)

“I Wanna Dance with Somebody” opens in theaters Dec. 23.