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Attention all you bad boy Bobby Brown stans. Remember the autobiography that was supposed to have come out earlier this year?
The one that Bobby had pledged to tell all. The one that Whitney didn’t want published for fear that all her business would be made public (what little that hasn’t already been put out there).
Yes, that one: “Bobby Brown: The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But …”
The book was supposed to be a collabo between then-friends, author Derrick Handspike and Brown, but we’re told the bad boy had a change of heart about going forward with the tome. Looks like it didn’t matter because the “The Truth” is being released today via Down South Books and it’s now being called … surprise … an “unauthorized autobiography.”
We know what you’re thinking. Nope, Handspike and Brown won’t be exchanging Christmas cards this year. But Handspike feels he’s justified in carrying on and bringing the book to light in spite of Brown’s wishes for him not to.
Handspike’s reasons for doing so are detailed in the drama filled forward to the book which follows …
Forward To “Bobby Brown: The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But …” – by Derrick Handspike:
The birth of this book started off as an autobiography about Bobby’s life that was to co-written by me and Bobby.
The book was set to be published under my company Down South Books and Bobby and I were going to reap the benefits.
Somewhere between the completion of the book and the media blitz that occurred from the controversial quotes from the manuscript that were leaked to the New York Post, it seemed as though Bobby got cold feet and started to procrastinate on our final agreement and the promotional and marketing planning phase of the project.
Among other things, there were a few quotes leaked about his marriage to Whitney Houston and how he started the downward spiral of drug abuse that turned him into the Bobby we hear about in the tabloids. Undeniably, the quotes were blown out of proportion and made headlines all over the world. This book had just about as much coverage as the infamous O.J. Simpson trial that swept the nation years prior.
It got more coverage than all the newsworthy moments of that time such as the Jay Z and Beyonce wedding, Michael Jackson’s 25th year Thriller Anniversary, and more coverage than the Presidential Election.
How does a book on someone’s life get more press than the aforementioned news? Of course, it has to be drama or something very negative. Whatever the reason, I think this left a bad taste in Bobby’s mouth about going forward with the project, or in laymen’s terms he got “cold feet.”
Let’s rewind. Here is how it all went down.
Bobby called me the morning the story broke in the media and he was baffled! He was confused! His voice was all low and he sounded wounded. I had never heard him like that before. First of all, he wanted to know how the story got leaked into the press. Second, he was dealing with how Whitney and their Bobbi Kris were feeling about yet another negative outburst of publicity drama about their family, and this time it was rightfully caused by him. I don’t think he was really ready for what had just happened! Especially since him and Whitney had just started to heal and become friends after their divorce. We had discussed before how he was fully supportive of Whitney’s attempt to make a comeback in the music industry. (In my opinion) I don’t think he wanted the pessimistic reports from the book and tabloid gossip to overshadow the fact that Whitney was finally clean, sober, healthy and happy!
I spent days at a time over a year with Bobby and conducted several long hours of recorded interviews with him. I then took other resources in addition to spending quality time with his family members to come up with the manuscript for this book.
I had been known in the past to do handshake deals with former business partners, especially if they were friends or close associates of mine. This project was no different. Bobby and his family were close friends so we started working on the manuscript with only a handshake deal in place. We decided we would wait until we were about to release the project to bring the attorney’s in to complete a final agreement. After about a year, we finished the manuscript. He read and approved the final draft so we initiated talks with our attorneys about finalizing an agreement (as planned). Out of nowhere, quotes were leaked and the stories broke in various countries simultaneously. This is when the media frenzy began and things rapidly went left!
Inconspicuously, Bobby started stalling! The first sign of the fact that was unfolding daily was when he let our first release date of May 13th that we set come and go! He showed no signs of finalizing an agreement. When he let our second release date of June 1st roll around and we still hadn’t reached an agreement, it became transparent. Obviously, he was procrastinating! It seemed like him, his manager and his attorneys were trying to find anything that they could to not get the deal done, than to get the deal done! At this point, it started to feel like a conspiracy!
I had heard rumors that Whitney was trying to stop this book from coming out and that she was going to do whatever she had to do to keep it from being published. I started to wonder if Bobby’s attorney and/or manager had been paid off by Whitney’s people. After all, they were the ones making it difficult for us to reach an agreement. I then started to wonder if Bobby had been influenced by Whitney not to go through with it. Whitney has been known, is known and will always be known as having a major influence on him. For whatever reasons, Bobby, his lawyer and manager were not in a hurry to finalize the agreed upon book release deadlines!
What started out as a clean-cut, tell-all book of Bobby Brown’s life ended up being a negative media circus. For two weeks, the media picked the manuscript apart concentrating on anything they felt could make them be the first to disclose the dirt on Bobby Brown. Inevitably, this could discourage anyone, and in this case maybe Bobby.
Whatever the case, Bobby left me and my distributor standing still. He left us no choice! We didn’t know which way to go next because he just started procrastinating. With all of the hard work, time and dedication to the project and money spent out of my pocket preparing this memoir, I decided to make the necessary changes to release it. I made the changes to revise the book so that it reads as a biography in lieu of an autobiography.
All in all, there are no hard feelings from me. At the end of the day, business is business! Maybe Bobby does not want his personal life and the lives of those who matter the most, his family, to be scrutinized and splattered across the televisions, newspapers and websites of America anymore. Maybe he just wants to be left alone. Who knows I might’ve done the same thing myself. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live under a microscope and every word I say being used against me. I might crack under the pressure too, especially when the attacks are against loved ones. Actor Robert Downey Jr., who has had a public controversial life of drugs like Bobby, has recently done something similar with his book deal. He took a major advance from Harper Collins Publishing, held the money for over two years, then for some reason decided to return the money and back out of the deal.
The call I made on moving on with the release of the book unauthorized was nothing personal, it was strictly business. I will make sure Bobby is still fairly compensated, but I have to move on. Besides money, time, and energy, from a business standpoint, I feel like you can’t dangle a project in the public’s face by putting it on the market, have over a hundred thousand pre-orders, have all the major wholesale and retail stores waiting on the edge of their seats for a solid release date. Then for personal or whatever reasons decide not to go through with it. That is bad business! That could jeopardize the integrity of my company and damage my business relationships before I even get off the ground. There is too much at stake to just drop the ball. I have really good future projects waiting to be released and this is only one of them. I am the biographer/publisher of the stars and it’s my duty to deliver the public good and accurate projects in a timely fashion. I will keep up with my end of the bargain and do just that. So from me, I give to you “Bobby Brown: The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But …,” Enjoy!
“Bobby Brown: The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But …” is available at Barnes And Noble, Amazon.com and Down South Books.
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