Christie noted Houston’s cultural impact and called her a daughter of New Jersey.’ Christie defends Houston flag honor

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday strongly defended his decision to have the state’s flags flown at half-staff for singer Whitney Houston.

Christie had been criticized for ordering flags at state government buildings to be lowered on Saturday, the day that Houston’s funeral services would be held in Newark.


His order was criticized both by those who thought that the honor should be reserved for recently deceased soldiers, first-responders and elected officials, and by those who thought it was wrong to honor an alleged drug addict.

Christie said he didn’t believe that Houston’s history of substance abuse “forfeited the good things she did.”

“I am disturbed by people who believe that because her ultimate demise — and we don’t know what is the cause of her death yet — but because of her history of substance abuse that somehow she’s forfeited the good things that she did in her life,” he said, according to the AP. “I just reject that on a human level.”

“What I would say to everybody is, ‘There but for the grace of God go I,’” he added.

The cause of Houston’s death is not clear, and the results on the toxicology tests taken after she died are pending.

Christie, calling Houston “a daughter of New Jersey,” also noted the cultural impact that the singer has had.

The Republican governor pointed out that he had ordered flags flown at half-staff for New Jersey’s 31 service members killed in action and every police officer slain in the line of duty during his time in office, according to the wire service.

Last year, Christie ordered flags lowered to half-staff for Clarence Clemons, the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.