Matt Lauer, Bill O’Reilly Go Head-to-Head Over Whitney Houston Coverage [VIDEO]

Did the media glorify Whitney Houston's drug addiction? Do we look the other way when it comes to celebrities who have a reputation for abusing drugs and alcohol? Bill O'Reilly thinks so, and says so in no uncertain terms on 'Today' with Matt Lauer.

He has a point. How are Steven Tyler, Willie Nelson, Stevie Nicks and many others still alive?

“You know what we in the media do, Lauer?” O’Reilly asked. “We wink wink it, we Snoop Dogg it. We Willie Nelson it. Hey, oh yeah, they’re stoned. That’s fine. And what message does that send? 'It’s okay!'”

Lauer maintains that the media actually did cover Houston's addictions accurately, but O'Reilly contends that they actually exploited it, saying, “Name me one media commentator outside of myself who said, ‘Hey Whitney, you better knock it off or you’re going to be in the ground.'"

The two discuss Houston's death about two minutes into the video; before that they touch on Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum squaring off in the upcoming Michigan Primary on February 28th.

[Mediaite]