'X Factor' Star Opens Up About Whitney Houston Catfight

The X Factor US contestant who rowed with Whitney Houston on the eve of her death has claimed the superstar had to be pulled apart from her after their furious bust-up.

Stacy Francis nearly came to blows with her musical icon in the early hours of Friday at a pre-Grammy Awards party at Los Angeles' Tru nightclub.

The 42-year-old single mum claims the catfight erupted after she began chatting to Whitney's on-off boyfriend Ray J.

Speaking about the incident for the first time, Stacy tells The Mirror: "Whitney came running over and said, 'You know Ray's my baby? Yeah, I'm a cougar, girl!'

"I said, 'Whitney, I love you baby. It's not like that. Calm down, you're causing a scene.' There was a lot of alcohol there. She was doing shots...

"Ray had come over to me when he got there and he hugged me and said congratulations on The X Factor. He had known me for about 20 years and he was happy for me being on such a big show. But I don't think Whitney understood."

Stacy, who was mentored by Nicole Scherzinger on the US version of the show, admits she began sobbing when Whitney hurled obscenities during the confrontation.

"I grabbed her hand and said, 'Please don't do this. You're everything to me. You're my idol, you're a legend.'

"I was crying and screaming out, we were both screaming until eventually we were pulled apart."

The aspiring singer was devastated to hear the tragic news about Whitney's death on Saturday, and insists she is glad their argument didn't escalate into a physical brawl.

She adds: "You don't have any idea how grateful I am that I did not hit her or that we didn't hit each other because I could not live with myself if I, God forbid, got into a fist fight or something with her. I loved her too much."

STARS REMEMBER WHITNEY