When Whitney Houston died, a little bit of Ray J went with her -- well, Ray J's clothing anyway ... and now he's being sued for the expensive items that mysteriously disappeared from room 434 at the Beverly Hilton.

In recently filed legal docs, L.A. Stylist Marc Littlejohn claims he was hired to do Ray J's wardrobe styling on February 10 for a Grammy related event ... problem is, he alleges all the duds he let the singer borrow were left in Whitney Houston's room.

Houston died the next day in that room and, according to the lawsuit ... the pricey clothes haven't been seen since.

Now Littlejohn is suing Ray J for $2,880 -- the cost of the missing clothes -- insisting he's reached out to both the singer and his mother/manager repeatedly to get some cash or the threads.

So far, he has neither.

Ray J crashed and burned the morning after the Billboard Music Awards ... and landed in the hospital ... TMZ has learned.

We're told Ray J was extremely upset after his confrontation with Whitney Houston's family -- notably Pat Houston -- during the awards ceremony. On Monday morning, someone went into Ray J's hotel room and realized the singer was "out of it" and couldn't get out of bed.

We're told Ray J was extremely disoriented and was immediately taken to the hospital by ambulance.

As for what happened ... it's looking like a combo of exhaustion and dehydration. Ray J had just returned from a quick, 32-hour round trip to China for business and when he landed he immediately drove 4 hours to Las Vegas for the awards show.

Ray J is still in the hospital. No word on when he'll be released.

The VERY last song Whitney Houston ever recorded has finally been released ... a duet with Jordin Sparks ... which Whitney performed just 4 days before her death.

The song is called "Celebrate" -- from her upcoming movie "Sparkle" in which she plays Jordin's mother.

After Whitney died, officials found evidence of hardcore drug use in her hotel room and in her system ... but producer Harvey Mason Jr. didn't seem to think her addiction had an affect on the quality of her performance.

Mason Jr. told People.com, Houston was "really positive" during the recording ... saying, "We ended the session dancing around the control room while she said 'Turn it up! Turn it up!' She was so fun-loving."

The movie is scheduled to be released in August.

Ray J was almost physically removed from the Billboard Music Awards last night after angry members of Whitney Houston's family ordered their security to get him away from them ... TMZ has learned.

Pat Houston's blood was boiling because she, Bobbi Kristina and other family members were seated next to Ray J, the person Pat believes was a very bad influence on Whitney. Minutes before the tribute to Whitney, Pat asked her security to remove Ray J from his seat, but he refused to budge.

Our sources say ... Pat's security summoned hotel security, along with several uniformed officers to physically remove Ray J. 

Just before push was about to come to shove, security warned Pat that things would likely get physical and it would almost certainly be caught on video, just as Whitney was about to be honored.  Sources say Pat then grudgingly recanted and Ray J kept his seat.

For his part, Ray J groused to friends, "Pat ruined what was a great opportunity to honor the woman who I loved."



11:40 AM PDT -- A rep for the Houston family tells TMZ ... Pat's assistant DID ask for Ray J to be moved from his seat ... but only after an official from Billboard told the family they needed to move to the seat that Ray J was already using.

Since Ray J had a ticket with the proper seat number, he refused to budge ... so Pat's assistant called for security to help sort out the situation.

The Houston family rep insists Pat does not have a problem with Ray J.

Whitney Houston's daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, didn't speak long at tonight's BIllboard Music Awards -- but she described herself as being "blessed to have been in such an incredible woman's life."

Bobbi Kristina -- in her first major public appearance since her mother's passing -- took the stage to accept the Millennium Award after performances by John Legend and Jordan Sparks. During Sparks' rendition of "I Will Always Love You," the camera cut to a crying Bobbi Kristina multiple times.

Bobbi Kristina was joined on stage by Whitney's sister-in-law and manager, Pat Houston, who spoke briefly before turning the microphone over to Bobbi Kristina.

Whitney Houston's sister-in-law -- Pat Houston -- is waging war against Bobbi Kristina because she desperately wants to accept Whitney's Billboard Music Award on her behalf ... and only BK is standing in her way.

Sources closes to the situation tell TMZ ... Pat is trying to force herself into the spotlight by accepting Whitney's Millenium Award at the ceremony in Las Vegas tonight ... and producers of the show are pissed.

We're told the show really wants BK to accept the award and make the speech on the late singer's behalf ... but Pat won't stand for it and is making life hell for them as she tries to worm her way into the segment.

Sources tell us ... the show's producers feel BK is the best choice to represent Whitney's legacy and they're convinced Pat is simply exploiting the situation to get publicity for her upcoming reality show.

Bobby Brown has debuted a new song he wrote about life since Whitney Houston's death ... in which Bobby admits he "messed up pretty bad" and begs his late ex-wife ... "Don't let me die."

An emotional Brown -- sporting sunglasses and leather pants -- performed the song on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" ... featuring the lyrics, "I didn’t realize that every breath I took was from you ... You were my air.”

Brown also sings,"I guess I messed up pretty bad ... I didn’t know who you were ... I didn’t know what we had. Now I’m stuck living in the past ... trying to get the pieces back ... but I guess now you’re gone."

Brown is releasing the song on his new album, which drops in June ... just 4 months after Whitney died.

One of Whitney Houston's close friends -- a mysterious man who's been widely accused of supplying the singer with coke before her death -- is declaring war on media outlets that ran with the drug story ... and now, he's on a crusade to clear his name.

The friend -- an enigmatic celebrity sidekick named Raffles van Exel -- tells us, he is "neither the architect nor the culprit of the sudden demise of Whitney Houston."

Raffles was with Whitney in the hours before she died at the Beverly Hilton hotel in February -- and there were widespread reports strongly insinuating he was the singer's secret cocaine supplier.

There were other reports suggesting Van Exel was also the one who snapped the infamous picture of Whitney's body in a coffin ... and sold it to a tabloid newspaper.

But for the first time ever, Van Exel is adamantly denying all the reports -- and has begun taking aggressive legal steps to save his reputation.

Van Exel has started firing off cease and desist letters to media outlets reporting any nefarious connection between him and Whitney's death -- demanding full retractions asap ... or else.

Van Exel -- who describes himself as a "private consultant to the stars" -- has also been linked to Michael Jackson around the time of the singer's 2005 molestation trial, as well as jazz legend George Benson.

No one really knows who he is or what he does.

Whitney Houston's mother is telling friends ... she fully supports the idea of a family reality show because she believes the exposure will be GREAT for Bobbi Kristina's singing career.

As we previously reported, the family just inked a TV deal with Lifetime to star in a reality show that will follow Whitney's relatives in the wake of the singer's untimely death.

Houston family sources tell TMZ ... Cissy Houston knows BK shares Whitney's passion for music ... and she believes a reality show could be the perfect place to showcase Bobbi's talent.

We're told ... Cissy also believes a reality show will "help with the healing process" by "keeping the family as one."

Cissy also likes the fact that her "extended family" will be making money from the deal.

But don't expect Kardashian-style antics on the Houston show -- producers are suggesting it will have a more serious tone ... at least for now.

Whitney Houston's daughter Bobbi Kristina -- and several of her relatives -- have signed a deal to star in a reality show for Lifetime called "The Houston Family Chronicles."

The show will focus on Pat Houston, Whitney’s sister-in-law and manager, Pat’s daughter Rayah, Whitney’s brother Gary, and Whitney's mother Cissy. 

Lifetime's EVP, Rob Sharenow says, "In this series, the multi-generations of the Houston family will bravely reveal their lives as they bond together to heal, love, and grow."

So we gotta ask ...

Bobby Brown says he isn't to blame for Whitney Houston's deadly drug habit ... claiming, "That was part of her life BEFORE we got together."

Brown just appeared on the "Today" show ... and told Matt Lauer, "I didn't get high [on narcotics] before I met Whitney ... I smoked weed and drank beer ... but no, I wasn't the one that got Whitney on drugs ... I'm not the reason she's gone."

Clearly, Brown doesn't consider marijuana to be a narcotic ... even though the U.S. Govt does.

Still, Brown says he hasn't touched "narcotics" in 7 years ... and says he was "hurt" to learn Whitney had been using again in her final days ... saying, "I know she was struggling with it still."

Brown concluded, "I can honestly say I love that woman with everything I am ... I believe she loved me the same way."