It's Not Right but It's Okay

"It's Not Right but It's Okay" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her fourth studio album, My Love Is Your Love. It was written by LaShawn Daniels, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, Isaac Phillips, Toni Estes and produced by Darkchild. First issued as the b-side to "Heartbreak Hotel in December 1998, it was officially released as the third single off the My Love Is Your Love album on February 15, 1999 by Arista Records. "It's Not Right but It's Okay" examines a woman confronting her lover about his infidelity.

The song was remixed by several remixers and producers, most notably Thunderpuss, whose version eventually made it to mainstream radio stations. It's also notable for its popular music video, which featured Houston in a strapless black leather gown designed by Gianfranco Ferré, sleek bob hairstyle, choker, and dark makeup, a stark contrast from Houston's previous, more elegant looks in past music videos.

The song was a success on the charts, first charting on the US Billboard dance and R&B charts as a promotional single. On the Hot Dance Club Songs chart, with its Thunderpuss remix, it became Houston's sixth number one single in January 1999, staying for three weeks, becoming her most successful single on the chart in her lifetime, spending 14 cumulative weeks on the chart. It was Houston's longest-charting single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, staying on the charts for 30 cumulative weeks, reaching a peak of 7 in July 1999. On the Billboard Hot 100, due to mainstream radio airplay of the Thunderpuss version, the song shot to number four, becoming Houston's 21st career top ten hit. In Spain, it became Houston's fourth career chart-topper. The song reached the top five in Canada, Iceland, Poland and the United Kingdom, while also reaching the top ten in Italy and the Netherlands and the top twenty in Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Its success in Europe helped to land it inside the top ten on the Eurochart Hot 100.

Houston won the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and the International Dance Music Award for Best Pop 12" Dance Record for the song in 2000.

In 2025, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original song's release, Houston's former record label Arista released another official house remix of the song by remixer Felix Jaehn. This version became a hit, reaching the charts in Estonia, Croatia, Israel and the Czech Republic, reaching number one in the latter country, marking Houston's first number-one single in the region and her first official number one single of the 2020s.

In 2003, Q Magazine ranked "It's Not Right but It's Okay" at number 638 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever". In 2019, Billboard listed it as one of the Greatest Songs of 1999. In 2022, the Thunderpuss club mix was listed in the list of the 200 greatest dance songs of all time on Rolling Stone. In 2025, Billboard listed the song in its 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time list as well as its 100 Best LGBTQ Anthems of All Time list. The song has also been cited by Forbes, Entertainment Weekly and About.com as one of Houston's best songs in her catalog.