Jane Fonda’s account of last night’s pre-Grammy party at the hotel where Whitney Houston died

I follow Jane Fonda on Twitter because she is one cool lady and she has a lot to say about what is going on in the world.

Her account of last night’s Clive Davis pre-Grammy party, where Fonda presented an award to Richard Branson, is riveting because the party took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel where Whitney Houston had died in the afternoon and where her body remained for part of the evening.

Here are some excerpts from her just-posted blog entry:

I decided not to walk the red carpet. I couldn’t imagine having to answer question after question about Whitney and the tragedy that had just occurred.

Last night, the mood in the ballroom before the show began was somber and there was a slight sense of disorientation—do we dare enjoy seeing old friends? Do we laugh? But then we moved into the ballroom and I had to give a big hug to another gal from Atlanta—Gladys Knight, and to my “Cuz” Quincy Jones, and to Jackson Browne (who I hadn’t seen in decades but used to know very well), and Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Rita Wilson, who has just done an album, and is always huggable and filled with joy.

Eventually Clive came out. He was silent for what seemed like an eternity, just standing there before the mic. No one spoke. We all understood. And when he did speak, it was perfect. We felt his anguish. He said, “Whitney would have wanted this to go on.” And (I’m paraphrasing), “It seems right that all the people who so loved and admired her can be here, together, to honor her and pay our respects and share our pain.” Then he called for a moment of silence.

Starting with Tony Bennett (his voice lovely and strong), almost every performer said something about what Whitney had meant to them. P. Diddy was extremely articulate and spot on. The women all called her their inspiration. Alicia Keys was deeply powerful, sitting at the piano, playing softly as she spoke about her friendship with Whitney who once flew all the way to some out-of-the-way place where Keys was performing just to hang with her and support her. She told how, as a young girl, she would sing in the mirror to Whitney’s albums and how life-changing it was for her when Whitney was the first black woman to appear on the cover of Seventeen Magazine.

I watched Piers Morgan when we got home and the interviews with the CNN reporters who were on site for the event seemed to make it appear like a weird scene with the party going on inside and fans outside singing I Will Always Love You. It was only then that I realized that for at least part of the evening, Whitney’s body had still been in the hotel. But those of us at the party didn’t know that and the atmosphere inside was anything but weird. It felt very right under the circumstances.

Some of it was subdued and some of it rocked. Clive held it all together. I got a chance to put my arms around him just before going on to present the Icon Award to Richard Branson. I felt his body filled with sadness.