Rihanna‘s dad has never been one to mince words, and he’s not showing any signs of stopping now. Ronald Fenty, who previously told the svelte starlet she should lose weight, spoke to press about her recent wild behavior — and why he hopes she won’t follow the same path and fallen legend Whitney Houston.

Fenty revealed that Rihanna had a childhood obsession with Houston in an interview with The Sun, in which he addressed rumors of Rihanna playing the superstar in a biopic.

“She used to love Whitney. Robyn [Rihanna's birth name] would always sing along to ‘I Will Always Love You,’” he said. “She admired Whitney because of her range, her voice, her appearance, her personality — everything. She loved Whitney so much she would be honored to play her. I think she would accept in a heartbeat.”

As for the demons that plagued Houston and played a role in her untimely death, Fenty was only cautiously optimistic about RiRi’s emulation of the ‘Queen of the Night’ singer. “I hope she will be smart enough not to go down that path. I think she is smart enough not to.”

Fenty wasn’t the only figure from Rihanna’s childhood to speak out on her behavior. Former neighbor Trevor Pretty essentially said the media needs to lighten up on the starlet, telling The Sun, “She’s just having fun. She is from the islands and you expect her not to like weed? Of course she likes weed,” he said. “People are going to attach Robyn to Whitney. The fact is Robyn is kind of hardcore. She is going to get even more epic as time goes by. I think she can handle it.”

Luckily for her dad but somewhat unfortunately for her, Rihanna likely won’t portray Whitney Houston in any capacity — that is, if Houston’s mother Cissy has any say in the matter. “Cissy believes Rihanna celebrates everything she hated about Whitney’s life — the drugging, the boxing, the abusive relationship,” a source said. “Cissy does not think Whitney should be represented by someone like Rihanna. In spite of what anyone thought about Whitney, she sees her as a God-fearing Christian who loved the Lord.”

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