The South African media have a message for Whitney Houston: We will always loathe you.
Newspapers and TV stations have mercilessly pounded the pop superstar since she arrived for three concerts, reporting that she behaved badly toward hotel staff, wouldn't answer questions at news conferences and refused to visit a dying girl. After her Johannesburg show, media reports concentrated on the large number of robberies and muggings.It isn't clear whether all the reports are true.
The general manager of the Carlton Hotel in Johannesburg called her a "superb guest." Patricia Pinnock, manager of a company that helps fulfill wishes of sick or disadvantaged children, said "there's still a possibility" that Houston will meet the dying girl.
Houston's handlers blamed the negative publicity on South Africa's years of isolation because of apartheid.
"South Africa has never experienced a superstar of Whitney's magnitude," said her spokeswoman, Roxy Meade.
Houston's final concert is scheduled for Saturday in Cape Town.