When footage of Amy Winehouse performing a concert went viral in 2011, the world was plagued with
so many unanswered questions. Why was she not taken off stage immediately? Most importantly,
how could those who love her have allowed something like this to happen?
Anyone who saw the footage of the performance would have been able
to tell you that it was an obvious cry for help. So why didn't anyone hear her?
We're looking into the heartbreaking story of music legend, Amy Winehouse.
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Amy's battle with substances shouldn't come as a surprise to you. During the height of her career,
images of her emaciated figure covered in wounds and bruises were plastered all over the tabloids.
Everyone knew that the young musician was fighting an almost unbeatable war.
So if it was known by people all around the world, why did those closest to her
allow her to completely derail into the dark world of substance abuse?
The truth of the matter is, there isn't just one answer.
There isn't just one person to blame. You'd probably run out of fingers if
you wanted to go around and point at everyone who was responsible for what happened to Amy.
Nick Shymansky, Amy's first manager,
has said more than once, "The whole thing was just a fucking (to be beeped out ) disaster.
In the entire Amy Winehouse saga, from start to finish, there were no winners. Everybody lost."
One thing that the world knows for sure,
is that some lost more than others and it was Amy that lost more than anybody else.
Amy, a documentary released in 2015, gives audiences a very intimate perspective on
the singer's life and her down spiral. The film tries its best to give fans the
answers they had been seeking for many years. While the film does give some answers it will
leave viewers feeling angry and perhaps even ashamed. Why? Well, what could be
more infuriating than someone who lost their life when it could so easily have been saved.
Nick described the time that the young singer's relationship with alcohol began
to take a darker turn. In early 2005, Amy's grandmother, Cynthia fell ill.
She had always had a special bond with her grandmother, who was also considered her guardian
and always had her granddaughter's best interest at heart. At the same time that Cynthia fell ill,
Amy met her infamous future husband and token bad-boy, Blake Fielder-Civil.
Those closest to Amy said they noticed an almost immediate change from when she met
the rebellious Blake. They would get calls from her in the middle of the night from a completely
intoxicated Amy who would often not know where she was and would need a ride home from whatever
bar was open at that time. Her drinking had now become something she could no longer control.
The death of her grandmother, pushed Amy over the edge and resulted in her resorting to many
more self destructive behaviors. One of which included a return of her eating disorder which
she had previously battled with as a teenager. Unfortunately, this was something that her family
never previously noticed and they were unable to see the warning signs. Amy went on to have the
name of her beloved grandmother tattooed onto her right arm, so that she always had her by her side.
The singer was then hit with another blow when her boyfriend, Blake, decided to leave her for
another woman. She was left heartbroken, still trying to heal from the loss of her grandmother
and now had to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart and self-esteem.
Feeling as though she had nowhere else to turn to, she leaned harder on substances
rather than seek comfort from those whose concerns were only heightening.
Nick, who was still Amy's manager, decided that it was time for the young singer to go to rehab.
He had even spoken to Amy's father, Mitch, to make sure that he was also on board with the
plan of sending Amy to rehab, and he agreed to back him up completely. Unfortunately,
based on the famous lyrics of "Rehab," everyone knows how that conversation turned out.
Nick had confronted Amy, expecting her father to support him in the idea of sending her to rehab.
Rather than having his daughter's best interest at heart, Mitch threw Nick
under the bus and said that she didn't need to go to rehab and that there was nothing to
worry about. Instead, he encouraged his daughter to make another album.
"So I drove her over to Mitch's place, called him before I left,
and he completely assured me that he backed the plan. Then when we got there,
he did the total fucking (to be beeped out) opposite." Nick said, recalling the incident.
So, instead of taking a break to care for her mental and physical health,
Amy wrote and completed her next album, Back To Black, which was of course a sensation and
catapulted the young singer straight into the spotlight. While the album was a smashing hit,
it's heartbreaking to think of what it cost Amy. It was probably the last chance she got
to really take care of herself away from the chaos of fame. Fans have wondered if Amy had
taken the time to go to rehab instead of creating Back To Black, that she may still be alive today.
Soon, it wasn't just paparazzi and die-hard fans that wanted a piece of Amy.
Her ex-boyfriend, Blake, came crawling out of the shadow and straight towards the press.
He sold his story about his relationship with Amy to the highest bidder, looking to grasp as much
attention - and money - as he could. He insisted that the album was all about him and how he had
been the one to break the singer's heart. It was as though he was proud of what he had done,
and wanted to be recognized for the hurt that he had done to the heartbroken singer.
But Amy was still besotted with the man, and in her eyes, he could do no wrong.
The couple soon married and no sooner after they were wed, Blake was arrested for armed
robbery. Amy, left alone and shattered by his behavior, sought nothing but an escape
from the chaos that was surrounding her. She sank deeper into the abuse of her body and substances.
Despite only being in her life for such a short time, he had a huge impact on Amy. He
had introduced her to the worst possible way of dealing with pain, and had her wrapped around
his pinkie finger. Perhaps his bad-boy attitude towards life was Amy's way of rebelling against
the fame and control that everyone else had around her. We'll never truly know.
What we do know is that she loved him, and did so wholeheartedly. Whether he
loved her just the same, is something that we'll leave for you to decide. Did he truly
love her or was he in it for all the fame and attention that came with being Amy's husband?
The couple divorced after two years of marriage. Paparazzi's images of the couple
together was a clear indication of their abuse of alcohol and substances. Amy grew thinner,
Blake's teeth were beginning to rot. The sight was just as frightening as it was shocking.
But the press couldn't get enough of it, waiting outside the singer's apartment ready to pounce.
She was constantly harassed by the paparazzi, the media and became the but of many jokes.
What caused the winner of 5 Grammy Awards, to turn to such a dark path of self destruction?
The answer isn't as simple as "Her ex-husband made her do it.". Though Blake later admitted
to being the one who introduced Amy to drugs, the reality of the situation was that the singer was
looking for an escape from her world and would have found it regardless of who gave them to her.
How could the world have been so cruel as to make fun of a young woman going through pain
and suffering with addiction? And yes, that's what they did. The media ripped her apart,
making her nothing more than an image in the newspaper and a long running joke at events.
Instead, she was a broken woman, desperate for help,
and needed someone to take her away from the spotlight and into a rehab.
"There are people who've spoken very highly of Amy since she died,
who've attended the foundation's charity galas and fundraisers,
but who were saying awful things about her on TV when she was really ill."
It seems that even her father, Mitch, who constantly insists that he wanted nothing
but the best for his daughter, was seen as an accomplice in his daughter's derailment.
When Amy had wanted to take a break from performing and slow down,
he insisted that she completed one more tour. Amy, not wanting to let anyone down,
agreed. And it is because of this that Amy was on stage in Belgrade, in June of 2011
It seems that though she was making constant pleas for those around her to save her from
what she was doing to herself, people were more interested in pushing her to make more money.
Unfortunately, Amy was pushed beyond her limit, and the world lost someone who
wasn't just an unbelievable artist, but also a wonderful human being.
The singer was found dead in her home, at the age of 27, just one month after the chaotic stage
performance. She had been with friends the night before, telling everyone that she was going to
do things right this time around and put herself first. Tragically, she didn't even get the chance.