Amy Winehouse on The Huffington Post

Amy Winehouse's Husband Out Of Jail, Into Rehab

2008-11-06T08:10:12Z

LONDON — The husband of troubled retro-soul singer Amy Winehouse swapped prison for rehab Wednesday, a man familiar with the matter said.

Blake Fielder-Civil was freed from prison on condition that he check into a rehabilitation center, the man said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he said it was not his place to discuss Fielder-Civil's legal issues.

Beverly Wettenstein: Joe the Plumber Vs. Lilly Ledbetter

2008-11-04T10:30:49Z

Supreme Injustice: Vote for More Ledbetter Decisions or Better Led Decisions

Why is Joe the Plumber the media darling and Lilly Ledbetter, today's real-life Rosie the Riveter, and maverick reformer Supreme Court advocate for working women, ignored by the press?

All the media -- print, broadcast, cable, hard news, tabloid, Internet -- was quick to create the latest in a line of celebritease in the regular guy guise of Joe the Plumber. He was mentioned more than 20 times in the last presidential debate. Barak Obama did cite Lilly Ledbetter and her Supreme Court case to ensure women earn "equal pay for equal work" and pledged to make it a priority. Have you seen her press coverage?

John McCain chose Sarah Palin to represent the working class. Palin's current net worth is more than $1 million dollars. Does she speak for women -- or to women? Is she Rosie, the Riveting Speaker, with the Rose-colored Glasses, or Rosie the Riveter, Working Woman?

Palin talks about "everyday Americans who are running our factories." Isn't that Lilly Ledbetter, the twenty-year veteran of a Goodyear Tire factory who was underpaid and denied retribution by the Supreme Court and the Senate?

McCain sought to connect with the working class and claim his moJoe with his new BFF and wing man. Joe the Plumber is now a key player in his campaign entourage. He is featured in every speech and in the media. Will Joe the Plumber be in the McCain kitchen cabinet?

Why has the media ignored Ledbetter, the real American working woman and advocate for equal pay? Why has the media glorified Joe as the spokesperson for the average working person? Early fact-checking revealed he isn't a licensed plumber and he isn't as flush as he claimed. His prospects for buying the two-man plumbing business he works for may, ineed, be a pipe dream, with no draining tax consequences. Joe now has an agent, is consulted on air about foreign policy by Fox News and compares with Bob the Builder for public awareness.

Who is Lilly Ledbetter you may well ask? Ledbetter is today's Rosie the Riveter, the World War II icon to represent working women, Norma Rae and Erin Brockovich wrapped in one brave maverick reformer advocate for women's "equal pay for equal work."

Briefly, Ledbetter worked at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber plant in Alabama for almost twenty years. She worked as an area manager from 1979 until she took early retirement in 1998, when the plant closing was announced. In 1996 she received a "Top Performer" award. Ledbetter was the only woman supervisor in her unit. She received an anonymous note revealing the higher pay of her colleagues. Throughout her career she had been paid less than younger, less experienced and more junior male workers for the same job. She was earning less than $4,000 a month -- 15% less than the lowest-paid male area manager and 40% less than the highest-paid area manager. With this "proof," she filed a suit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). A jury found that Goodyear discriminated and awarded her back pay and punitive damages amounting to $3 million.

Goodyear appealed the case up to the Supreme Court and got a reversal of the jury verdict by one vote. On May 29, 2007, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. reversed 40 years of legal precedent on "equal pay for equal work."

Now victims of pay discrimination must file a lawsuit within 180 days of the first paycheck discrepancy, even if the victim is not aware until later. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in her dissent, noted that the Opinion is "one that tossed aside precedent and logic."

Ledbetter received no back pay and no court costs. In retirement, she has become a dedicated, outspoken advocate for other women to earn "equal pay for equal work." I hope a film is made of her life story and she reaps the rewards. I see working women heroine actresses Charlise Theron, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep or Sally Field playing her role.

When Obama mentioned Ledbetter in the final debate, McCain muttered that it would create "a trial lawyers dream." He and opponents claim that trial lawyers could take advantage of women who allege discrimination. The EEOC reports discrimination charges filed by women in 2007 reached almost 25,000. Ledbetter was brave as the sole woman and filed her suit after taking early retirement. Most class action cases are filed by lawyers on a contingency basis. Certainly, they only accept a case with evidence of discrimination and they only collect if they win.

When President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act on June 10, 1963, women earned 59 cents for every dollar earned by men. Today white women earn 78 cents for every dollar earned by men; African-American women earn 66 cents and Hispanic women earn less. In Europe women earn 16 percent less than men for equal work.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion and extended affirmative action to the hiring of women as well as minorities.

The House of Representatives passed the corrective Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The Senate has stalled. McCain agrees with the Supreme Court decision. Palin concurs with McCain and the Supreme Court. Will Palin and the women senators who support the Supreme Court decision accordingly accept lower salaries in sympathy with real American working women?

Let's cut the lipshtick and bull and focus on the real issues that makeup legislation affecting all women and their families. For the first time in history, a majority of adult women are single, separated, widowed or divorced. Women are the head, or sole provider, of almost 13% of all households. More than 10 million single mothers live with children under 18.

Here's a shoutout to all working women and especially young women beginning their careers. According to the Supreme Court decision, and Senate support, you should ask to see the paychecks for all your coworkers the first day on a new job. You have 180 days to determine if your first paycheck is discriminatory. Or, like Ledbetter, you will be underpaid for the rest of your career with the company and in retirement. Ledbetter was instructed not to discuss salary with coworkers upon hiring. Companies have strict policies about salary secrecy and offenses could be cause for firing.

The reality for women who do not have lifetime appointments and public salaries like the Supreme Court justices and senators -- or access to a multimillion dollar family fortune -- is you are dependent on a paycheck. Lilly Ledbetter's lower salary throughout her career at Goodyear -- a misnomer -- predetermined her reduced 401(k), pension and Social Security in retirement. As women move up the career ladder, base salary is just a portion of the total executive pay package that may include stock options, travel and expense allowance, bonus, etc.

Tori Spelling ditched the "90210" spinoff when she learned that she would be earning less than her former castmates. Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, seeks IRS exception from its nonprofit status to keep top salaries of the league's employees secret. Salary secrecy is management's great American tradition of doing business.

Women need income before worrying about paying income tax. I'm less concerned about the BlackBerry/Pinkberry voters. I care about the women for whom Goodwill hunting describes shopping for family necessities.

The media has focused on Ivy League-educated women who opt out of the workforce. I call this the "Ivy Leave" option and it is available to only a few women. Most women have to work to support their families or are forced back to work when confronted with the dreaded Ds: death, divorce, disease and downsizing (think Bare Stearns).

The next president may appoint up to three new Supreme Court justices. The appointment of life-tenured judges can become a president's and Congress' most consequential legacy. Five of the nine Supreme Court justices are 70 or older and justices serve on average 25 years. The 5-4 Ledbetter decision may be a precursor of how future legislation will impact working women and their families.

The Supreme Right to Shoes

When I speak around the country on "A Woman's Place in the 21st Century," young women tell me they don't vote because they don't see a connection between politics and their own lives. I respond, "How many of you own at least one pair of athletic shoes?" They all raise their hands.

I inform them that athletic shoes for women weren't manufactured until there was a mass market created by the Supreme Court 1972 Title IX ruling, requiring equality in education, including athletics.

Kathrine Switzer, as K. Switzer, crossed the finish line in the Boston Marathon in 1967. She had to order athletic shoes from abroad. Pioneer women runners wore men's or canvas shoes. Quite a feat!

The Amateur Athletics Union (AAU) finally allowed women to enter sanctioned marathons in 1971. Women were officially allowed to compete in Boston in 1972, and in the New York Marathon on an equal basis in 1973. Switzer won the New York race in 1974. A champion for women runners, Switzer was instrumental in having the first women's marathon in the 1984 Olympics.

Following the passage of Title IX, the number of sports available to college women had doubled by 1984. Joan Benoit admitted that she would not have won her way to victory in the 1984 inaugural women's marathon if she had not won a scholarship to North Carolina State under Title IX. Benoit set the world record in the Boston Marathon in 1983.

In 2007, almost 15 million women participated in running; more than 4 million females participated in races and 165,000 participated in marathons. In 2004, almost 140 million pairs of women's athletic shoes were sold in the US with sales figures of almost $5 billion. Today athletic shoes and clothing have become the uniform for even the most sedentary women. Sarah Palin is said to run three miles every other day.

Speaking of athletic shoes, I used to think high-top sneakers were ugly. That is until I fractured my ankle and had to wear them every day. I still appreciate the support they give me. I think of that when I'm evaluating the candidates for the national, state and local offices. Style vs. substance. Who will support me and all women?

Since the enactment of Title IX, opportunities for girls has increased by almost 1000 percent at the high school level. Today more than 3 million girls are participating in high school athletics.
College athletic scholarships for women were nonexistent before Title IX. Today more than 170,000 female student-athletes participate in intercollegiate athletics, up from 30,000 in 1972 before legislation was passed.

In 2006, $600 million in scholarships was awarded to female student-athletes in NCAA Division I colleges, including basketball (4,550 coeds), soccer (more than 6,000 coeds), softball (almost 5,000 coeds) and track and field (more than 7,000 coeds).

Ginger and Fed: Dancing with the Stars Wasn't Equal

Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did. Only she had to do it backwards, in high heels, in a tight long dress, for lower salary. In her autobiography, Rogers said, "In my case, there's no question that the discrepancy in treatment and remuneration was due to my gender. When Fred Astaire made his demands to the front office, his requests were honored, while mine were attributed to 'greed' or 'ego.'" Plus, she had to spend more time in hair and makeup and costume fittings. Rogers had to negotiate hard to get her equitable paycheck. After much foot-dragging by the studio executives, she stood her ground and won a better contract and a percentage of the profits.

Carrie Bradshaw ("Sex and the City") cultivated an extensive shoe collection and never voted. More than 35 million eligible women did not vote in the 2004 election. Less than 47% of the women aged 18 to 29 voted in 2004. Nearly 20 million unmarried women did not vote in 2004. Women comprise the majority of all voters and the majority of swing and undecided voters. Compare how much time you spend shopping for shoes -- and how much time you spend shopping for your elected officials. Turn out. Don't tune out on Election Day.

Eleanor Roosevelt was 36 when she was allowed to vote for the first time. Remember her and Lilly Ledbetter and all the maverick reformer women and men who fought for your right to vote and fair pay and equality. Vote based on the candidates' agenda, not gender.

"Celebrate Women Every Day!" is the motivational message in my speeches on "A Woman's Place in the 21st Century," "A WOMAN'S BOOK OF DAYS Journal" and writings. Sarah Palin has reached milestones for women as the first woman governor of Alaska and the first VP candidate on the GOP ticket. She's shown American girls that they may grow up to run for VP and that men do make passes at girls who wear glasses.

Please contact your senators to support the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act and tell your friends.

Read more Election Day Liveblogs, Reaction and Analysis from HuffPost Bloggers

Couple Pleads Guilty To Selling Drugs To, Footage Of Amy Winehouse

2008-10-31T14:14:57Z

LONDON — A British couple who sold video footage of singer Amy Winehouse apparently smoking crack to a newspaper have pleaded guilty to drug charges.

Johnny Blagrove and Cara Burton admitted in court Friday they offered to supply drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, to Winehouse.

Celebrity Halloween Party: Cindy Crawford Does Amy Winehouse

2008-10-27T11:12:50Z

Even though Halloween's not until Friday, the partying started off early, with Kate Hudson's big bash at her house Friday night. (Which was so big the cops almost broke it up!)

Our fave celeb costume was definitely Cindy Crawford as Amy Winehouse.

Isaac Skelton: Grieving Family Blames Amy Winehouse for Overdose Death

2008-09-26T14:14:44Z

A grieving grandfather, featured in a story in the Daily Mail of London is blaming Amy Winehouseand other celebrities' drug use for the overdose death of his grandson, Christopher Preece.

My heart goes out to the family. No words are adequate when a family is grieving the loss of a loved one, and nothing can bring back Christopher Preece. While I understand Mr. Preece's anger and search for explanations for his grandson's death, pointing a finger at celebrity drug use will do nothing to change the situation.

While Mr. Preece's grandson died in England, the United States is also experiencing an overdose epidemic. Accidental deaths from illegal and increasingly from legal prescription drugs have doubled in the last decade. An estimated 22,000 Americans died last year alone from accidental overdoses, second only to motor vehicle accidents. More people died of accidental overdoses in New York last year than from murder. Yet our government spends not a single federal penny on overdose prevention!

Fortunately, some states are taking the initiative and deciding to do something about these preventable deaths. New Mexico broke ground last year when the state legislature passed and Governor Bill Richardson signed the first "911 Good Samarian" law that provides immunity from arrest to witnesses of overdose who summon emergency services. Most overdoses are witnessed by others who can take action. If 911 is called quickly, most people will survive an opioid overdose. Unfortunately, fear of arrest on drug charges often stops onlookers from calling emergency responders. In Christopher's case, his friends waited half a day to call an ambulance. It should never be a crime to call 911 to save a life. "Good Samaritan" laws can dramatically increase the chances of survival. Now New York, Maryland, California and other states are considering similar legislation.

Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and other cities are starting to make available Narcan, an opiate antagonist that immediately and reliably reverses drug overdoses and saves the lives of drug users. This life-saving medicine has already saved thousands of lives and returned loved ones to their families and friends. Naloxone should be made widely available, coupled with training about how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose. Studies show that most drug users are able to learn how to use naloxone -- a simple nasal spray that can stabilize breathing long enough for medical professionals to arrive at the scene and save a life.

While it's true that illegal drug use by celebrities is a terrible example for our youth, it could also be argued that public figures like Amy Winehouse are also excellent examples of how not to behave. Whatever one thinks of Amy Winehouse, we should keep in mind that there are concrete things we can do as a society to help save lives and prevent fatal overdoses.

Amy Winehouse "Sick," Pulls Out Of Show

2008-08-30T07:53:15Z

British soul singer Amy Winehouse pulled out of a Paris concert at short notice on Friday after falling ill at home in London, her spokesman has said.

The 24-year-old, whose battle against drug addiction has overshadowed her recording successes, had been due to appear at the Rock En Seine festival in Paris.

"Amy Winehouse was regrettably unable to perform at the Rock En Seine show in Paris due to illness," her spokesman said in a statement late on Friday.

"She was taken ill at her house and wasn't able to travel to France for the concert."

John Sauer: Finding the Toilet in Stockholm

2008-08-27T14:56:21Z

Last week a mix of water and sanitation experts gathered for World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden to mull over the world's biggest public health crisis. The problem is that not enough people paid attention.

Each year over 2 million deaths could be prevented with improvements related to access to safe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene. To put that in perspective, we have it within our grasp to prevent the equivalent deaths of 10 Asian tsunamis or 1,000 Hurricane Katrinas. Yet a major effort--like those that have been launched to address HIV/AIDS and malaria--to tackle the global drinking water and sanitation crisis remains elusive. The scope of this disconnect is baffling; water- and sanitation-related diseases (like relatively-easy-to-prevent diarrhea) kill more children each year than HIV/AIDS, malaria, and measles combined.

One reason why there hasn't been a Herculean effort to address this global scourge is that we in the water and sanitation sector are not doing enough to influence how this issue is understood by others. We have not been proactive or coordinated enough to frame the issue to the media and the wider development community in an action-oriented "this-can-be-done" tone.

All too often, water and sanitation has been framed as a "privatization" issue instead of an "access" issue. This is problematic. The "privatization" frame is confusing. It too often results in a blame game that takes attention away from the end result of the sector's work: getting water and sanitation to those who need it. Many of the most innovative, scalable solutions to the water and sanitation crisis are locally initiated approaches, such as the production of latrine slabs or ceramic water filters. They are put in place by a combination of actors: beneficiaries, communities, governments, local entrepreneurs, corporations and NGOs. The work of all of them is necessary to solve this problem.

There is a great need for the water and sanitation sector to reframe the issue so that those outside the sector understand what is at stake and become part of the solution. This effort will take leadership, resources, and working together (for more than one week in Stockholm). I propose "universal access" as the theme that guides this new direction. Developed countries have had universal access to water and sanitation for nearly 100 years. It makes no sense why the rest of the world can't get universal access as well.

Another explanation why the water and sanitation crisis remains in the shadows is that "sanitation" specifically has been ignored. Let's face it-- diseases associated with sanitation, like diarrhea, do not have "disease appeal" for governments and donors. The result is that very few people in the general public even know that 2.5 billion people do not have access to improved sanitation--nearly half of whom actually have to resort to open defecation. Those who do learn are outraged and take action.

More resources must be devoted to recruiting sanitation champions. HIV/AIDS has a built-in constituency because many people have a direct connection with someone who has suffered from or died of HIV/AIDS. Malaria has David Beckham trumpeting its cause. Sanitation needs a brave soul to be its spokesperson.

It has become a joke in the sector that no one in their right mind would become a "sanitation spokesperson." But this is no laughing matter. The lack of sanitation is one of the main reasons there isn't greater progress towards enabling the world's poor to meet their basic needs; malnutrition, poor education and disease burden are all exacerbated by inadequate sanitation. And the plight of the poor becomes more related to the survival of all as the world gets smaller each day.

In fact, some high-profile individuals have spoken out about the urgency of access to sanitation and they should be applauded. Matt Damon, Ashley Judd, Keira Knightley are a few. Would they be willing to form a Sanitation Celebrity Council to move this issue to its tipping point?

So the appeal I'd make to the 2,500 experts who went to Stockholm is to start a "universal access" campaign and to make sanitation--the most important medical advance since 1840--a major part of it. It's time to elevate water and sanitation to the status that it enjoyed during the UN's first Water Decade, which ended in 1990. This is, after all, the second Water Decade (2005-2015) in case we forgot. It's time to get this done.

Tina Wells: Hair, Hubris and Humility: What John Edwards' Actions Say to Today's Teens

2008-08-17T22:05:27Z

Amidst the turmoil of Russia attacking Georgia, the anticipation of the oncoming presidential election and the triumph of Michael Phelps making Olympic history, another news story has captured the public's fancy -- John Edwards' tawdry affair with a crazy lady.

No wonder. It has it all -- scandal, sex, treachery and hypocrisy. In the supporting role you have the devoted ailing wife. In the lead role, the man who would be king is brought down by his own fragile ego. And in the role as villain you have the manipulative vamp. Classic trash. Think of it as "The Elliot Spitzer Chronicles Part II."

This goes to show that people of power, be it politicians or rehab-ridden celebrities, all share a similar flaw. They think they're above it all. And what makes it worse is when they think their excuses somehow justify their actions. Whether it's Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears, the B-listers on Celebrity Rehab, or Paris Hilton, it's all the same whiney refrain: "I was abused. I have an addiction. I have an illness. I have ADD. The paparazzi chased me." Or, in the case of John Edwards, "Narcissism made me do it."

When are people in the public eye going to take responsibility for their actions? Nobody beat them. Nobody made them to take that drink. Nobody forced them to do without the necessities in life so that they couldn't learn right from wrong. If anything, they had it too easy. Edwards - the man with the $400 haircuts who came off as a champion of the downtrodden -- gave a litany of lame excuses for cheating on his sick wife, as if he could somehow articulate a compassionate justification for being, well, sleazy.

But that's the way it is these days. No one admits fault. Famous people, whether they are politicians or celebutantes, think they are better than everyday people because every day people have let them think they are better. That's got to stop.

Sure, we've all heard this story before. A cheating spouse is nothing new. And "power corrupts" in many ways. But what does it say to the young people of America when someone of Edwards' stature pulls this? I believe it perpetuates that sense of entitlement that so many of tweens and teens are already developing.

As long as you're famous you're above the law or any set of rules, morals or ethics. And if you have money, you can buy your way out of any sort of trouble. Society gives second chances to these celebrities on an ongoing basis. Some even boast about it. They talk about kicking drugs or booze or straightening their lives out as if doing so deserves special praise. Shouldn't today's youth be admiring those who don't get addicted, or cheat or lie in the first place? Where are those stories?

The message taken by teens is that it's more important to be a famous person than a decent one. Marquee value trumps merit; cash trumps character. And the media reinforces it with every moment of airtime they allot to these privileged pinheads and their petty indulgences.

In the case of Edwards, he went as far as to say his wife and kids, "weren't responsible" for what he did. Excuse me? Does anyone think they were? Is Edwards so full of himself that he thinks he's being magnanimous by saying this? When I heard this I didn't know whether to be saddened or sickened. At least he didn't have his poor wife stand beside him while he purged, selectively, to the interviewer. I'd like to think she had enough self-esteem not to give him the satisfaction.

Was Edwards expecting affirmation? Forgiveness? Sympathy? I think so. He probably thought he'd come off as brave and forthright. Instead, he looked like a pompous fool. You lied John Edwards! You're still lying! Just admit it and go away! Your time is up, but everyone got the memo except you. If you were on Flava of Love, Flava Flav would be taking away your clock by now.

Let's be real here. The only reason you're coming clean is because you got caught. If you really want to do the right thing, apologize to your wife and children and stay out of the public eye. Your career is over. Now it's time to exit with what little dignity you have left. Our youth doesn't need to see any more of this morally bankrupt, self-justifying spectacle.

Tina Wells, 28, founded Buzz Marketing Group (www.buzzmg.com) when she was just 16. A leading consulting company that specializes in the latest youth trends, Buzz clients include St. Martin's Press, SonyBMG, Sesame Workshop and Time Inc., to name a few. A trailblazer in her field, her list of honors include Essence Magazine's 40 Under 40 Award, Billboard's 30 Under 30 Award, and AOL's Black Voices Female Entrepreneur's Award.

Amy Winehouse's Drink Was Spiked, Says Father

2008-07-30T17:29:00Z

AMY WINEHOUSE's furious father is convinced a "pal" sparked her string of terrifying fits by spiking her drink with the killer drug ecstasy.

And last night he vowed to find out who was responsible for landing the troubled singer back in hospital once again.

Amy, 24, was rushed to A&E on Monday night after her distraught dad found her convulsing.

It was originally thought she had suffered a reaction to medication she was taking to help her quit Class A drugs.

Amy Winehouse Released From Hospital

2008-07-29T09:10:56Z

LONDON — Amy Winehouse was released from a London hospital Tuesday after an overnight stay to treat what her spokesman said was an adverse reaction to medication.

The 24-year-old singer-songwriter was discharged from London's University College after spending the night in observation, said spokesman Chris Goodman.

Amy Winehouse Released From Hospital

2008-07-28T18:05:04Z

Wax Amy Winehouse Unveiled

2008-07-23T16:38:06Z

LONDON — Madame Tussauds unveiled a waxwork of Amy Winehouse on Wednesday complete with her signature beehive, black eyeliner and a bright yellow minidress.

Winehouse's hair and 5-inch black heels make the model nearly 6 feet tall. The wax Winehouse's dress resembles one that the singer wore to the BRIT music awards in 2007, when she won best female solo artist.

Amy Winehouse's Husband Sentenced To 27 Months In Jail

2008-07-21T10:25:09Z

LONDON — Amy Winehouse's husband was sentenced Monday to 27 months in jail for assault and obstructing justice.

Blake Fielder-Civil has admitted beating up pub manager James King in a barroom fight in 2006 and then offering him $400,000 to keep quiet about it.

Amy Winehouse Snapped Again With White-Ringed Nose

2008-07-11T11:09:41Z

Despite her recent stint in hospital and her father's desperate efforts to keep her in line, it appears Amy Winehouse hasn't been able to shake her bad habits.

The troubled star was seen with a white substance in her nostrils during yet another erratic night out in Camden.

She emerged from the Monarch Pub, where she had spent the evening DJing, at 2am and in typically bizarre fashion picked up a Budweiser cardboard box to hide her face as she piled into a cab.

The singer admitted in a recent interview in Rolling Stone magazine that she had taken drugs during her stay in a rehabilitation clinic, where she went to tackle her addiction to alcohol and hard drugs.

Keep reading and see the photos.

It was reported earlier this week that Winehouse's husband Blake Fielder-Civil was caught on camera doing drugs in prison.

Blake Fielder-Civil Snapped Doing Drugs In Prison

2008-07-07T07:28:16Z

JUNKIE Blake Fielder-Civil takes heroin in his prison cell hours before wife Amy Winehouse begs for his release.

Our exclusive pictures show him heating the drug on foil before inhaling fumes through a tube - known to addicts as "chasing the dragon".

The skinny and pale lag, who had claimed to be off drugs, is also seen squatting on his cell toilet as he prepares his stash.

Blake, 25, took his fix in London's Pentonville Prison hours before singer Amy's pleas for his freedom during her shows at the Nelson Mandela birthday concert and Glastonbury.

The lout - who we revealed has been writing sleazy sex letters to a female lag behind Amy's back - will be sentenced on Thursday for perverting justice and GBH.

In January, The Sun exposed a video of Amy, 24, smoking a crack pipe in her flat after taking a cocktail of other drugs.

An Interview With Grammy-Winning Producer Mark Ronson

2008-07-05T09:28:43Z

To get away with the suit Mark Ronson is wearing today (blue stripes on white, solid blue collar, bum-freezer jacket, cropped trousers tight as a tourniquet), you must be able to tick a series of boxes. Young and Slim go without saying. Handsome helps a lot. But to really carry it off on the streets of London and not look like some affected fop, you need to have Rich, Successful and Very Confident at your disposal, too. The record producer, DJ and fashionable man of the moment, 32, is all of these things and more, and hence carries his clothes with ease and style. "Do you like it?" he asks of his ensemble (by the Swedish-born, New York-based designer Patrik Ervell, and a recent purchase). "Who else cares enough to wear seersucker in a light colour? It's just me and Tom Wolfe, I think."

Such casual self-absorption does not translate well to paper. But still there's something likeable, even charming about the man behind the albums Back to Black (by Amy Winehouse), Alright, Still (Lily Allen) and Version (his very own, but featuring guest vocals by a variety of artists, most notably Winehouse on the hit reworking of a Zutons song, Valerie). And that's impressive, given that within the space of one year, his status here has gone from that of relatively unknown DJ/producer to that of media ubiquity (his very presence at festival turntables this summer is being counted on to boost the bankability of one outdoor event after another).

Even so, Ronson knows his time is precious. Spending an hour in his company is like hanging on to the coat-tails of someone living a life that Heat readers can only dream of, as I discover on meeting him, on what is a whistlestop visit back to the capital, and driving with him east from Notting Hill. No sooner are we in gear than he proposes a detour. Today is the 21st birthday of his half-sister Henrietta and there is a package he absolutely must drop off. In fact, the first thing he did on arriving at Heathrow this morning was to call Allen and ask her advice about a suitable gift. "Lily's really good and sweet like that. She said, 'There's this cool bag and I'm calling Chanel right now. Just drop by and pick it up!' Which I did. Right and then first left please [he is now addressing the driver] and stop just where those balloons are being delivered." He reaches for the door handle. "I'll only be a minute," he promises, and duly is.

Amy Winehouse Drinks Onstage At Latest Show

2008-07-04T20:13:39Z

ARGANDA DEL REY, Spain — Soul diva Amy Winehouse sipped from a glass of red wine and looked a bit unsteady on her feet as she appeared in front of a large audience at the Rock in Rio music festival southeast of Madrid on Friday.

Then, as tens of thousands cheered, she threw off a pair of high stiletto heels in favor of white moccasins, donned a white electric guitar and settled into an intense rendition of some of her best known songs, including "Rehab."

Vanessa Richmond: Girls Hating Girls

2008-07-03T14:11:44Z

The tabloids paint Britney Spears' as a neglectful, deranged, drug-addicted mother who frequently neglects and even endangers her children, and whose partying ways are responsible for her demise. The video and images of Amy Winehouse smoking crack cocaine have been widely circulated, along with a flurry of recent articles alleging that her frequent drug use is to blame for the decline of her health -- including emphysema and her stark emaciation.

But a video of Heath Ledger hanging out at a drug-fueled party before his death didn't make it to air on Entertainment Tonight, nor appear elsewhere. New York coroners ruled that Ledger's recent death was due to an accidental overdose of prescription medication, with few media outlets even casting other aspersions. And when Owen Wilson was hospitalized last year after an apparent suicide attempt, not only did his plight inspire only one cover story in US Weekly, but news coverage was almost entirely sympathetic and respectful, often citing psychiatrists' explanations of the intricacies of mental illness and depression.

Sure, plenty of male stars get excoriated by the media -- Mel Gibson to name one. But overwhelmingly, as a recent New York Times article alleges, "Men who fall from grace are treated with gravity and distance, while women in similar circumstances are objects of derision, titillation and black comedy."

Last week a conference called Going Cheap? FemaleCelebrity in the Tabloid, Reality and Scandal Genres, held at the University of East Anglia in the U.K., attempted to get to the bottom of this paradox and "our" fascination with self-destructive female celebrities. Papers included "Britney's Tears: The Abject Female Celebrity in Post-Emotional Society" and "Hooker, Victim and/or Doormat: Lindsay Lohan and the Culture of Celebrity Notoriety, among others.

Unsurprisingly, some celebrity journalists disagreed with the symposium's premise, including Gordon Smart, who edits The Sun. He told the BBC that the preponderance of female stars is purely coincidence. "At the moment there just happens to be cluster of female celebrities that are going through difficult times."

But Diane Negra, a professor of film and television studies at the host university, said the coverage of women is definitely more judgmental than the coverage of men. And that while a media story about a drug-addicted man is likely to focus on or even celebrate his expected return (as with Robert Downey Jr.'s recent Iron Man performance) coverage of female celebs is more likely to focus on their (self-inflicted) demise and act as "cautionary tales."

"We seem to have a lot more fixed ideas about what women's lives should be like than we do of men," she said.

Why? "When we use female celebrities this way, we see them failing and struggling, they serve as proof that for women the work-life balance is impossible. Can you have it all? The answer these stories give again and again is 'absolutely not.'"

In the recent New York Times piece, several tabloid editors agreed they handle female celebrities differently but said the reason is due to readership, not sexism. US Weekly's readership is 70 per cent female, and People's is over 90 per cent.

Janice Min, the editor-in-chief of US Weekly, said that putting a solo man on the cover is "cover death. Women don't want to read about men unless it's through another woman: a marriage, a baby, a breakup."

So the only coverage of Ledger's death focused on how his estranged wife and child were coping, not on any of his history. And with Owen Wilson, much of the coverage focused on Kate Hudson -- whether their recent breakup was to blame for his troubles, and how she was reacting.

The conference touched on another reason for increasing negative tone: public concern about the growing number of celebrities who are famous simply for being famous, like Paris Hilton or the stars of reality TV shows.

Cary Cooper, a professor of psychology and health at Lancaster University in England, said readers and viewers want to see celebrities struggle because "it makes people feel good." Celebrities "look like they lead a golden life, and yet it doesn't make them happy. So in a way it justifies our humdrum existence."

But while readership demographics explain why there's more coverage of bad girls than bad boys, and public resentment about rich but talentless celebs explains why much coverage generally is negative in tone, those two factors don't entirely explain why the media is more critical of ailing female celebs than of male ones.

Negra has one more theory, that the "massive coverage these women draw is only a little bit about themselves... These women operate as lightning rods for a lot of other concerns."

And for a lot of negative sentiment about women, generally.

"Urgh, I'd never thought about that, but it's true," a 38 year old female friend groaned when I told her about the conference's premise.

"I hate to admit it," said the same friend, one of the most positive, enthusiastic people I know, "but I do it. I cut down other women." Two other friends chimed in and agreed they do it too.

A 12-year-old boy, also sitting at the table, said that the girls in his class are mean to each other. "They're always saying other girls are fat. And 'I hate her, I don't like her.'"

A few years ago, a 60-year-old mother of two sons told me she was so glad she'd had boys because "girls are all so prissy and frilly and catty. Yuck."

An unrelated study, released this week, showed that glaring sexism is easy to brush off, but subtle sexism leads to self-criticism, self-loathing and poor performance on tests.

Researchers set up a mock job interview in which women were asked sexist questions, then all were told they didn't get the job. Half the women were told the reason was that they were women -- and their self-esteem remained intact. The other half were told they didn't get the job because they'd given wrong answers, and subsequently experienced low self-image and poorer performance on IQ and other tests.

Hasn't everyone heard somewhere that people who bully and criticize others are ones who have low self esteem themselves?

So isn't it possible that the increasing appetite for tabloid stories that attack other women could actually be because those female readers are experiencing more subtle sexism and therefore self-loathing?

The more that happens, the more it does, apparently. Rebecca Roy, a psychotherapist who has several clients in the entertainment industry, was quoted saying the double standard in public treatment of bad girls and bad boys can actually intensify the destructive behavior of those female stars, pushing them to further depths of substance abuse and erratic behavior.

So is the solution for me to learn to love Britney and Lindsay?

This post first appeared on The Tyee.

Ken Levine: Gee, What's Amy Winehouse Up To Today?

2008-07-01T13:50:15Z

Did she spit on a fan today?

Was she hospitalized?

She hasn't been arrested in a week, so perhaps that was on her to-do list.

Anyone new suing her?

Is she suing anyone new?

How long has it been since her last complete breakdown?

Did she destroy any hotel rooms in a drunken rage?

Does she or doesn't she have Emphysema?

Does she or doesn't she have an irregular heartbeat?

Has she been stung by one of the bees that obviously live in her hair?

Any new sex tapes discovered? And if so, is it worth watching?

Has she been voted the worst dresser of all-time... by Cher?

Has she been called a racist again?

Has her health insurance provider dropped her?

Will her crack den be featured in ARCHITECHURAL DIGEST?

Is she in or out of rehab? And if so, which one?

Has she caused a ruckus in rehab when the attendants wouldn't let her watch the World Series?

Did she win six more Grammys?

Did she sell them for heroin? Or cartons of Virginia Slims?

Has her father had her committed?

Has any fan mistaken her for Elvira, Mistress of the Dark?

Has she been denied a visa?

Has she been denied a Costco membership?

Did she have a nice visit with her husband in prison?

Any new eating disorders we don't know about?

Has she discovered there's no such thing as "Recreational Ketamine"?

Did she get her tooth replaced?

Have plans been scrapped to serve as spokesperson for the American Lung Association?

Has she been deported from Norway for possessing cannabis and trying to tip the doorman with it?

Was her latest tattoo (the Teletubbies and Hitler) drawn with an infected needle?

I like Amy Winehouse. I love her music. It's distinctive, original, and no one will ever cover it on American Idol. But I worry that her self destructive behavior will finally catch up with her, that her record label will drop her, her concert tours evaporate, her fortune goes up in smoke or her nose, she's in total despair and finally one day I get that inevitable call. The one I dread.

"Did you hear about Amy Winehouse?"

"Oh no. Don't tell me. Did she...?"

"Yep. 5:00 this morning."

"Oh Jesus, that's so terrible."

"Yeah. She signed with CAA and is meeting with writers about doing a sitcom. Are you free for lunch on Thursday?"

You can read more from Ken at kenlevine.blogspot.com

Melissa Silverstein: The Facination with Celebrity Women in Crisis

2008-07-01T11:32:46Z

Are women celebs in peril treated differently than male celebs? I don't think I really need to answer that question. Our culture, especially women, are obsessed with celebrity and when these women are in crisis, our interest is only heightened. So the question is, why are we continuously so interested in Britney, Lindsay, Paris, Nicole, Amy etc.? Don't you think we've had enough?

We can lay some of the blame at the foot of Bonnie Fuller who after working at YM and Cosmopolitan went and remade US Weekly and then the Star. I remember the days when the Star was just supermarket trash like the National Enquirer. By making it into a glossy and including tons of pictures of celebrities she made it into a "reputable" magazine like People, except for the fact that it is all celebrity focused. She was profiled in this Sunday's NY Times the 101 Secrets (and 9 Lives) of a Magazine Star as she embarks a creating a new media brand that will, in no doubt, continue to feed our celebrity centric diet. As writer David Carr says in the piece: "celebrities have always been with us, but not quite in the way they are now since Ms. Fuller rethought them as familiars, our fake friends whom we can slag or praise, depending on the moment."

This past week a couple of English professors -- Prof Diane Negra and Dr Susan Holmes -- from University of East Anglia in England, put together a conference that focused on whether female celebs are getting a raw deal. The conference was called Going Cheap? Female Celebrity in the Tabloid, Reality and Scandal Genres and included panels like Britney's Tears: The Abject Female Celebrity in Postemotional Society and Hooker, Victim and/or Doormat: Lindsay Lohan and the Culture of Celebrity Notoriety. Other topics discussed included: Mother of the Year: Dina Lohan, Lynn Spears and the Discourse of Bad Motherhood; Toxic: Perez Hilton, Gossip Blogging and the Spectacle of Female "Train Wreck" Celebrity; and 'She has it all'--Style, Iconicity, and Celebrity Motherhood in the Sarah Jessica Parker Brand.

The goal of the conference was to study why women celebrities are treated in a more punitive way when in peril than their male peers, why we get pleasure out of seeing these "train wrecks" and as Professor Negra says our "pleasure in seeing women brought low."

Dr. Su Holmes gave a little perspective on the topic for Women & Hollywood.

Women & Hollywood: Why are we so obsessed with these young women in peril and what does that say about us as a culture?

Dr. Su Holmes: First, it reflects on the wider desire to see celebrities 'stripped bare' - as 'damaged', more 'ordinary', and in some ways, apparently more 'real'. This might be cast as a kind of democratisation of the relationship between audience and celebrity, or at least a means of venting public frustration with inequalities in wealth, privilege etc.

However, in looking at the different treatment of male and female celebrities - especially with respect to young women - it is clear that this is far from a 'democratic' culture, as often sexist and misogynist discourses are still in play. Female celebrities are often treated far more punitively - and judged more harshly for their actions - by the media/ public. One of the reasons for this may be a cultural anxiety around gender roles in a post-feminist context.

Seeing Britney Spears 'fail' as a mother, or young women lurching in and out of 're-hab', might be seen as 'proof' of the fact that women can't 'have it all' (work, career, family, love life) and be successful. This is then seen as essentially 'reassuring' in terms of traditional gender boundaries. We might also point to the fact that women, and especially young women, are often positioned as epitomizing a decline in the cultural value of fame ('famous for being famous'). The fact that women are more likely to be conceived as 'trivial' celebrities reflects the fact that women's work (in terms of career) has always been less valued than men's.

W&H: What can we (as women) do to not be complicit in this vicious cycle?

SH: In terms of existing debate in the media, it has regularly been claimed that the punitive treatment of young female celebrities is effectively perpetuated by female audiences. After all, the dominant explanation for what was seen as an explosive interest in the female celebrity as 'trainwreck' narrative was that the answer was rooted less in 'sexism, [than]... the demographics of the [celebrity] audience' (Williams, 2008).

In other words, at least with respect to the celebrity magazine market, it is the desires of the female audience which are posited as driving the interest in these representations (Rebeck, 2008). We are informed that: 'women readers actually like to see pretty girls screw up, we're positively obsessed by it, to the degree that we want them to do drugs and get into drink-driving accidents and act like total freaks and end up in rehab or worse' (Rebeck, 2008). Whilst relying on sexist ideologies in itself (women are seen here as innately 'competitive, jealous and individualist), this certainly suggests that women are complicit in these representations. Yet what 'drives' media coverage is clearly a complex issue, and there is also very little research into how 'female celebrity damage' is used/ interpreted by audiences.

In other words - do we know that women are 'all' complicit? Maybe these images are read critically - and not just by academics? If the audience - whether male or female - stopped consuming such images of celebrity culture, it would cease to be profitable and thus produced, but this doesn't seem like a likely outcome!

FYI- the Rebeck referred to in Dr. Holmes' second answer is Theresa Rebeck the playwright and novelist who has just written a cautionary tale about the celebrity culture, Three Girls and Their Brother. Here's the Guardian piece:
Why the media will hound the girls - but leave the boys alone

Professor Negra also had some good thoughts.

But Negra said the coverage of women is more judgmental, casting wayward female celebrities as "cautionary tales." She said coverage of female celebrities is less likely to celebrate a troubled star's triumphant comeback, the way Downey has been lauded for "Iron Man," or Owen Wilson has been shown returning to work after a reported suicide attempt.

"We seem to have a lot more fixed ideas about what women's lives should be like than we do of men," she said.

"When we use female celebrities this way, we see them failing and struggling, they serve as proof that for women the work-life balance is impossible. Can you have it all? The answer these stories give again and again is 'absolutely not.'

Experts debate lure of 'train-wreck' female celebs (AP via CNN)
Why are we obsessed with female celebs? (Evening News 24)

Amy Winehouse Punches Fan (VIDEO)

2008-06-30T12:53:21Z

Full-time tabloid star and occasional musician Amy Winehouse is known for her outrageous behavior. Recently, she was the talk of celebrity gossip fans when she spat gum at and fought with a fan at the Glastonbury Music Festival. A video of her scuffle at Glastonbury has been released on YouTube.

Amy Winehouse Spits Gum At, Fights With Fan

2008-06-28T23:35:27Z

LONDON (AP) _ Amy Winehouse was packing a punch at the Glastonbury music festival. After taking the stage Saturday, the troubled singer climbed down into the pit and scuffled briefly with a reveler.

It was unclear what sparked the altercation but witnesses say a fan tried to grab Winehouse.

Amy Winehouse Performs At Celebrity-Packed Mandela Show

2008-06-27T19:43:10Z

LONDON — Will Smith charmed the crowd, Amy Winehouse wowed them just by showing up _ but Nelson Mandela proved to be the biggest star of all at a concert Friday in honor of the South African statesman's 90th birthday.

Acts including Queen, Razorlight, Leona Lewis and a host of African stars joined more than 40,000 music fans for the outdoor show in London's Hyde Park, hosted by movie star Smith and held to mark Mandela's birthday on July 18.

Spokeswoman: Amy Winehouse Doesn't Really Have Emphysema

2008-06-23T23:56:41Z

LONDON — A discrepancy regarding the health of Amy Winehouse arose Monday after the Grammy-winning singer's father said she had early stage emphysema brought on by smoking crack cocaine and cigarettes.

A publicist for Winehouse later said he had misspoken "out of his concern for her."

Michael Lewittes: Just Say No To Winehouse

2008-06-23T18:30:58Z

When Amy Winehouse fainted in her London home last week and was rushed to a hospital, it seemed like just another drug-related disaster for the troubled troubadour. Winehouse's bouts with booze and drugs have been well documented (sometimes even by the singer herself). Still, many jaded journalists and celebrity watchers were surprised by the news on Sunday that she suffers from emphysema.

The revelation was made public when her dad, Mitch Winehouse, told the U.K.'s Sunday Mirror that her "lungs are all gunked up," and that she has only 70 percent lung capacity. Emphysema at the age of 24? That's absurd. Or is it, considering the "Rehab" singer smokes crack and cigarettes the way most of us drink water.

What is beyond absurd, however, is that Winehouse was chosen to perform this Friday at the AIDS awareness 46664 Concert in London's Hyde Park in celebration of Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday.

Winehouse, a renowned junkie, should not be allowed to perform at an AIDS awareness concert for a Noble Prize winner, who has lived to a ripe old age after fighting injustice. Seriously, was there absolutely no one else the 46664 Concert organizers could have picked to perform in her place?

The soulful singer's dad was further quoted in the Sunday Mirror as saying that "when sheís been inactive work-wise then that's when the problems really start." He added, "If she hadn't done recent shows in Moscow and Portugal she could have been dead by now. She abstains and regulates her drug use when she has to do a show."

I understand the conundrum here: Bar her from working and she'll have plenty of free time to binge on drugs. Keep her busy, and she'll remain relatively clean.

The problem, though, is that she's being financially and otherwise rewarded for her bad behavior. The more she is onstage, the more money she makes. And the more money she makes, the more access she has to drugs.

Simply, we, as her audience, are filling her crack coffers.

That's why, even though last week I bought a new iPod, and as much as I would like to download her catchy tunes, I won't. I cannot in good conscience circuitously support her horrible drug habit. And neither should you.

Concert promoters need to stop booking her. The public needs to stop buying her music. And radio stations need to stop playing her singles.

Granted, this will do little to stem her illicit lifestyle, since she's already reportedly banked $20 million. But it's a start.

Quite possibly, when Winehouse realizes that the public has finally objected to her destructive drug abuse, she'll clean up her act.

And if her livelihood isn't enough of a motivation, maybe her life will be. Mitch Winehouse said that had his daughter continued smoking crack for another month, she very likely would have needed the assistance of an oxygen mask to breathe. He further related, "The doctors have told her if she goes back to smoking drugs, it won't just ruin her voice, it will kill her."

Regardless of whether it's because of a threat to her health or wealth, only when Winehouse says no, no, no to drugs, should we once again say yes, yes, yes to her music.

For more on Winehouse, check out http://www.accesshollywood.com/gallery/969/amy-winehouse-