The Whitney Houstonhologram debuted for the first time earlier this month, and without the permission of her estate.
TMZ reports that record producer Scott Storch partnered with Hologram USA—the company that created the 2Pac and Michael Jackson holograms a few years ago—to create a variety show that included live performances and appearances from deceased celebrities.
Storch hosted the event on the FilmOn TV network, boasting cameos from former stars Jackie Wilson, Billie Holiday, 2Pac, Biggie, and MJ, as well as holograms of icons who are still alive, like Ray J and Chief Keef.
Houston’s hologram appeared on screen at one point, which was supposed to be used for a performance on The Voice’s 2016 finale, in a duet with Christina Aguilera. However, Houston never appeared on the show: photos of the performance leaked online days before, and the singer’s estate pulled it because they didn’t like how the hologram looked.
Since then, the hologram’s creator, Alki David has spent his time perfecting Houston’s three-dimensional likeness. Sources tell TMZ that David reconstructed the hologram’s image, and then later decided to use it for Storch’s show.
David didn’t get approval from Houston’s estate and apparently didn’t feel the need to; since he created the hologram in the first place, he felt like he could continue the project on his own. However, sources say that the estate doesn’t exactly see it the same way, and are currently looking into their legal options.
