Alva James-Johnson: Count the cost of fame and fortune

As Americans, we tend to envy the rich and famous.

Their lives seem so much more exciting than ours. So we live vicariously through them as they flaunt their glitz and glamour. But when you peel back the layers, fame really isn't all that it's cracked up to be, and in some cases, it may even be detrimental.

I'm thinking, of course, of the recent turn of events in the life of Bobbi Kristina Brown, the 21-year-old daughter of the famous music entertainers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown.

You would think that, born into a life of stardom, she would've had the whole world at her fingertips. Instead, it has been a rough road from day one, as her parents wallowed in drug addictions that eventually led to the death of the iconic Houston around this time three years ago.

Now, almost like clockwork, Bobbi Kristina is allegedly on life-support at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta around the three-year anniversary of her mother's death. What makes the case even more bizarre are the circumstances surrounding it. Bobbi Kristina, according to news reports, was found facedown and unresponsive in a bathtub in her Georgia home, which is eerily similar to how her mother died Feb. 11, 2012, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The events that led to Bobbi Kristina's misfortune are still unclear. The media is in such a frenzy regarding the case, it's hard to know what to believe. But the basic facts seem to be that Bobbi Kristina, the sole heir of her mother's multi-million dollar estate, was found in the tub on Jan. 31 by her boyfriend, Nick Gordon, and a friend. Though Brown and Gordon grew up like adopted siblings, they claimed to be married, which her father says is untrue. Atlanta police have since launched a criminal investigation into the bathtub incident.

But I would argue that Bobbi Kristina is the victim of another crime -- that of a life that robbed her of an innocent childhood as her parents allegedly exposed her to drinking and other vices at a very young age and she was dogged by rabid tabloids and paparazzi.

And losing her mother so tragically on the public stage had to have been devastating. One can only imagine the anguish that she experienced.

On the reality show "Being Bobby Brown," Houston once said, "I just want a real life. Lord, I just want to be a real person!" after a family visit to an amusement park turned into a media fest.

I imagine Bobbi Kristina has felt the same way on many occasions in her young life. I bet she would have given anything just to have a normal childhood without all the drama.

I pray she pulls through for a brighter future.

Alva James-Johnson, 706-571-8521. Reach her on Facebook at AlvaJamesJohnsonLedger.

This story was originally published February 12, 2015 at 7:23 PM with the headline "Alva James-Johnson: Count the cost of fame and fortune."