The emotional reason why Kevin Costner refused to shorten his eulogy for Whitney Houston

Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston developed a friendship after working on the movie “The Bodyguard” together. Their bond was so strong that, decades later, Costner delivered a heartfelt 17 minute eulogy for his friend after her tragic death.

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Costner recently discussed his eulogy on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, revealing that people wanted him to shorten his speech in order to allow commercials to play on the televised broadcast. Costner refused.

“I had been working on this speech… and I tried to compile everything I wanted to do and finally crafted this speech,” said Costner. “Somebody said, ‘CNN’s here, they wouldn’t mind if your remarks were kept shorter because they’re going to have commercials.’ And I said, ‘They can get over that. They can play the commercial while I’m talking, I don’t care.’”

Costner was one of eight speakers at Houston’s funeral. He revealed that even though he was unsure of delivering the eulogy, he was ultimately convinced by singer Dionne Warwick. “I could feel the weight on her, now it’s shifted to me,” he said on the podcast. “What am I going to say about this little girl?”

More details about ‘The Bodyguard’

Costner and Houston worked together on “The Bodyguard,” which came out in 1992 and became a blockbuster hit. The romantic thriller has the best selling soundtrack of all time, featuring singles “I Have Nothing” and “Run to You,” which later received nominations at the Academy Awards for best original song. The movie’s soundtrack also featured Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” which remains one of the most iconic songs of all time.