Wednesday, 3 January 2007

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Whitney Houston auctions off her grand piano

Star sells costumes and items from stage shows

Whitney Houston is having a garage sale, sort of.

On Tuesday, a New Jersey storage company will auction off about 400 items, including her designer stage costumes, to cover the $200,000 it says she owes in unpaid bills, the New York Daily News reports.

On the block: a custom-made, transparent grand piano worth an estimated $300,000 to $400,000 when new, a chair described as "Whitney's Throne" and gowns by Donna Karan, Dolce & Gabbana and Bob Mackie.

"It's a warehouse full of stuff from her shows," A.J. Willner Auctions co-owner Steve Newmark tells the paper.

According to the company, Houston, 43, stopped paying her bill in 2005. But her rep tells the News the things being sold are "old equipment from past tours that she doesn't need anymore. It's not unusual for artists to sell off staging and equipment not in use anymore."

Once the sale pays off the $200,000, the rest of the proceeds will benefit Houston, who in October filed for divorce from Bobby Brown after a tumultuous 14-year marriage. In November, her $6 million New Jersey estate was to be sold at auction after she was sued for not paying her mortgage or taxes for a year.

Last week, according to the News, she paid off those debts.