Ray J On Whitney Houston:

Before the unexpected death of pop superstar Whitney Houston, her longtime friend and associate Ray J gave an interview with "The Insider" where he discussed their relationship. Despite stories of there having been a romantic link between the two, Ray J insisted in the interview that she and Whitney were friends.

"You know people blow this thing out of proportion. I mean that’s my friend; I’ve been knowing her for years and years and she’s a part of the family," Ray J said. "So when we go out the next day it’s everywhere and there’s so many different stories but that’s my people, that’s my friend."

"I have a lot of love for her and I have a lot of respect for her," he continued, and didn't confirm that there was a romance. "I don’t think you could really say that. I just think our friendship is something people may not understand. Maybe because of the age difference but we’ve always just been friends."

"We hug. We laugh. We go out to dinner. We talk about different things in our lives and she’s a cool person," Ray J added. "We’ve always kept our relationship as private as we could but when we go out she’s such an icon that it reaches the masses. For the most part, we’ve just been friends and we’ve always kept it hush-hush and quiet. You know we really don’t focus on that."

Ray J had nothing but positive words for Whitney's state of mind, at the time of his giving in the interview. "Great. Great, from what I know but you would have to ask her because she can tell you better than me," he said. "We had a great dinner."