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Artist News Legal
Winehouse family condemn Amy documentary
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 27 April 2015
Amy Winehouse’s family have issued a statement distancing themselves from an upcoming documentary on the singer, ‘Amy’, accusing it of being “misleading” and “unbalanced”.
As previously reported, the film, made by ‘Senna’ director Asif Kapadia, is due to hit UK cinemas in July, after a premiere at the Cannes film festival. David Joseph, CEO at Winehouse’s record company Universal Music UK, called it “a very complicated and tender movie”, while the director himself said that it’s “an incredibly modern, emotional and relevant film that has the power to capture the zeitgeist and shine a light on the world we live in”.
However, the singer’s father Mitch Winehouse said last week that he is planning to sue for defamation over his portrayal in the film, as well as attempting to block its release in July. He told The Sun: “I felt sick when I watched it for the first time. Amy would be furious. This is not what she would have wanted. I am painted as being an absent father during her last years. It gives the impression the family weren’t there”.
He added that he takes particular exception to Amy Winehouse’s former husband Blake Fielder-Civil’s appearance in the film, during which he apparently blames her father for her alcoholism and drug use.
In a statement, the Winehouse family said that they “would like to disassociate themselves from the forthcoming film about their much missed and beloved Amy”.
A spokesperson for the family told reporters: “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. Fundamentally, the Winehouse family believes that the film does a disservice to individuals and families suffering from the complicated affliction of addiction”.
The film’s makers told The Sun in a statement: “We came on board with the full backing of the Winehouse family and we approached the project with total objectivity. We conducted in the region of 100 interviews with people that knew Amy. The story that the film tells is a reflection of our findings from these interviews”.
The release date for the film is currently set for 3 Jul.
