Whitney Houston once dubbed chat show host Rosie O'Donnell a fat b*tch

But the jibe was censored to protect the singer's image, a new book claims.

Writer Allison Samuels says the insult - made by the troubled chart-topper in an article with US magazine Newsweek - was cut out.

Editors feared the comments would upset the Grammy-winner's fans. In new book Off The Record, Samuels writes:

"After a few meetings with the top editors at the magazine, we decided not to use (it)... since many of Houston's fans did not know that side of her and it was such a demeaning statement. "Furthermore, Whitney was clearly not in her right mind."

The comments were made several years ago after O'Donnell implied the singer had drug abuse problems, according to the New York Post. A spokesman for Houston, 43, was unavailable.