<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"X Factor USA contestant Stacy Francis has spoken of her &amp;quot;regret&amp;quot; at clashing with the late Whitney Houston on the night of her final public performance.  The &amp;#039;I Will Always Love You&amp;#039; star, who died on Saturday (February 11) at the age of 48, was named as an inspiration by Francis during her stint on the show and the two even shared a stage together back in 1999.   However, it has been claimed that the pair came close to blows when they reunited at an LA pre-Grammy event hosted by singer Kelly Price on Thursday (February 9), due to Houston failing to recognise the aspiring singer.  Eyewitnesses claim that Houston &amp;quot;got belligerent&amp;quot; when R&amp;amp;B star Ray J tried to defend Francis and &amp;quot;hands were raised&amp;quot;.  &amp;quot;It didn&amp;#039;t seem like Whitney remembered her, but she was cordial at first,&amp;quot; a source told The Hollywood Reporter. &amp;quot;[But] Whitney just got belligerent.  &amp;quot;Ray was trying to defend Stacy, telling Whitney, &amp;#039;Stacy&amp;#039;s family!&amp;#039; but Whitney was feeling crowded out and hands were raised... You didn&amp;#039;t know which way it could go there for a minute.&amp;quot;   Francis, who said after the incident that she had the &amp;quot;utmost respect for Whitney Houston and her talent&amp;quot;, took to Twitter upon hearing of the iconic performer&amp;#039;s death and lamented how their final meeting had ended.  &amp;quot;This is a sad time for me. I loved Whitney Houston with all my heart,&amp;quot; she wrote today (February 13). &amp;quot;She was such an amazing musical influence for me.  &amp;quot;I deeply regret the events that led to Thursday&amp;#039;s misunderstanding, but I respect and love her more than I can say... Whitney maintained a genuineness in this difficult profession and I will always admire and respect the courage that she lived. &amp;quot;At this painful time, I would like to express my support and most sincere condolences to Whitney&amp;#039;s family in learning of her sudden death... I will always remember her to be a deeply humane person and wish her spirit to rest in peace.&amp;quot; X Factor USA boss Simon Cowell confirmed at the weekend that Houston was in talks to join the show&amp;#039;s judging panel.  Watch footage of Whitney Houston&amp;#039;s last public performance with Kelly Price below:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/the-x-factor-us/news/a365405/whitney-houston-death-x-factor-stacy-francis-regrets-recent-clash/>