- Music
- 28 Apr 15
The family of the late singer has dissociated itself with the upcoming documentary on Amy Winehouse's life
Many are excited for the upcoming Amy Winehouse documentary Amy, but Winehouse's family are not among them.
The late singer's family has published a statement claiming the film is a misleading look at the iconic singer and portrays them in an inaccurately negative light.
The film, like the highly acclaimed Cobain documentary Montage of Heck (which was made with the participation of Courtney Love and Frances Bean Cobain), uses archival footage that has never been seen before to offer a deeply personal look into Winehouse's meteoric rise to fame and untimely death. Her family, however, believes the film selects a very narrow sample of individuals close to her for interviews and skews the truth.
Amy's father, Mitch Winehouse, speaking to The Sun, said he did not rule out the possibility of a libel or slander suit against the film's producers when it is released.
Amy is slated for a July release in the UK, so we can expect to have it around that time here. See a trailer and read the Winehouse family's full statement on the matter below ...
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"The Winehouse family would like to disassociate themselves from the forthcoming film about their much missed and beloved Amy. The documentary about her life will be released this summer and receive its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
They feel that the film is a missed opportunity to celebrate her life and talent and that it is both misleading and contains some basic untruths. There are specific allegations made against family and management that are unfounded and unbalanced. The narrative is formed by the testimony of a narrow sample of Amy’s associates, many of whom had nothing to do with her in the last years of her life. Counter views expressed to the filmmakers did not make the final cut.
Fundamentally, the Winehouse family believes that the film does a disservice to individuals and families suffering from the complicated affliction of addiction. By misunderstanding the condition and its treatment, the film suggests for instance that not enough was done for Amy, that her family and management pushed her into performing or did not do enough to help her. In reality, the filmmakers were told of a huge effort from all concerned to help Amy at all stages of her illness and their constant presence in her life throughout, as well as that of many excellent medical professionals.
As many families know, addiction cannot begin to be treated properly until the individual helps themselves and there is no 'one size fits all' solution. Furthermore, Amy was an adult who could never be told what she could and could not do. Through their work with the Amy Winehouse Foundation, Amy's family have met many others enduring through the same struggle that they endured and have helped hundreds of disadvantaged young people in Amy's name. They will continue to do so and hope their work creates more understanding of a terrible illness."