Cissy Houston speaks up for the first time since Whitney Houston’s death

Cissy Houston, Whitney Houston’s mother, has spoken out for the first time since the star’s death to reveal she does not hold herself responsible.

Cissy Houston, 78, opened her heart to local television station My9 following almost two months of silent mourning.

While she is devastated by Whitney’s sudden passing, Cissy Houston also said there is nothing more she could have done to save her substance abusing child.

In the interview, which airs on Monday, the elderly gospel singer said: “I know I did the best I could.

“I don’t blame myself. I know I did the best I could for everything.”

Cissy Houston, Whitney Houston's mother, has spoken out for the first time since the star's death to reveal she does not hold herself responsible

Speaking at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, Cissy Houston also said Whitney tried to help her family as much as she could.

Whitney Houston’s mother said: “My children are my whole life. She was very special to me… she was my only daughter, and a good one. [She] looked out for her family.

“I’m very proud of my daughter, she accomplished a whole lot in the short time that she had here.

“She was a very wonderful person.”

Cissy Houston spoke to the news station at the church where her 48-year-old daughter was laid to rest following her death in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 11.

And she said she is still not recovered from the shock of discovering Whitney had died.

Cissy Houston, who famously appeared in the video for Whitney’s hit Greatest Love of All, said: “I have my moments.

“I’m not there yet. I don’t think I’m any more courageous than anyone else.”

“I am a true believer in God, if I could bring her back I would, but that’s not possible.”

Cissy Houston is under even more family stress at the moment, as her granddaughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, 19, plans to marry Nick Gordon, a longtime friend who’s known as her “adopted” brother.

According to the Star magazine, Cissy Houston vehemently disapproves of the engagement.