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Oprah<\/a> Winfrey says she protected Whitney Houston from public scrutiny after the late legend fell off the stage, having apparently relapsed ahead of her final appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. <\/em><\/p>\n The media mogul opened up about using her television influence as a \u201cforce for good\u201d during her presentation to Cannes Lions delegates at the Lumi\u00e8re Theatre in the Palais des Festivals on Tuesday, June 23, recalling at one point her decision to protect Houston from a devastating public moment in 2009.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was an amazing thing that happened. I had such trust from the Oprah Show <\/em>audience \u2026 I think it was [Houston\u2019s] last show with us, and she had gone back on drugs,\u201d Winfrey said, as per Variety<\/a><\/em>. \u201cThe first interview I did with her, when we\u2019d gone behind stage and I asked her about her intention, she was clean, but the day she came to my show then to perform in front of the audience, she was not, and she fell off of the stage.\u201d<\/p>\n Winfrey said that she knew how devastating the incident would have been for the \u201cI Will Always Love You\u201d artist and jumped into action. <\/p>\n \u201cI knew that if that story got out \u2026 she would be destroyed by that,\u201d Winfrey said. \u201cAnd so even though the audience was there and the audience had cameras, I begged them not to put those pictures out because it would ruin her life, and they did not. That would not happen today, I can tell you that.\u201d<\/p>\n Three years later, Houston died in February 2012 at the age of 48 due to an accidental drowning. <\/p>\n