Whitney Houston birthday reignites Brandy vs. Monica

Must you do the things you do, Brandy?

The singer and former duet partner Monica were part of an Internet firestorm Wednesday on what would have been Whitney Houston's 54th birthday.

The single-named singers both posted tributes to Houston, who died of an accidental drowning and the effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use in 2012.

On an Instagram posting of a photo of Houston, Monica wrote "Happy Heavenly Birthday Nippy ... You still inspire many & touch hearts daily... You will forever be the greatest .... You will forever be missed."

whitNot to be outdone, Brandy followed up with a collage of images of her and Houston, with whom she co-starred in a 1997 remake of "Cinderella."

"Happy Born Day Whitney. You live on in me... I can feel your Spirit inside of me and all around me," Brandy wrote. "My angel, my friend, my fairy God Mother. I love you forever... thank you for trusting me with the torch!!! "

That caused some to accuse Brandy of making it all about her. Others saw it as a shady swipe at Monica, with whom Brandy famously sang the 1998 song "The Boy is Mine" -- which cast them as rivals for the same guy.

A few people took to the comments on Brandy's Instagram to express their displeasure, and she snapped back with a comment about how "Monica needs to really check her evil a** fans."

"It's so much stuff I can post about the hateful things they say to me... but I will never have time for that," Brandy wrote. "Always thinking something is about her. It's not!!"

"Me and Whitney have nothing to do with anyone but the two of us," added Brandy, who also did three other Houston tributes on her Instagram. "We made history and I cared more about being with her than I did about anything else."

It's not the first time social media has taken sides.

Related: Monica and Brandy beefing? What year is it?

Last year, there was some uproar when Monica fans were posting online versions of her hit "So Gone" as part of the viral #SoGoneChallenge. When one fan asked Brandy if she would participate in the challenge, the singer's response was "Chile bye."