Singer Amy Winehouse, a favorite among many LGBT music lovers, has been found dead in her London apartment. The cause of death has yet to be confirmed.
The 27-year-old Grammy winner, who rose to fame in 2007—ironically with the song “Rehab”—battled drug and alcohol addiction for years and had most recently checked into a treatment facility in May. She resumed touring just days later, but canceled her remaining dates not long after.
We’ll leave you with this clip of Winehouse’s video for “Back to Black” and a quote from the singer herself:
“I didn’t go out looking to be famous… I’m just a musician.”
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Photo via
inoits2
Rest in peace Amy. Your journey was tough.
Uh huh
If ever there were a time to skip the usually misplaced (or at least wildly overused) cliches about “battling” drugs and alcohol and “struggling” with addiction, this is it. Someone who wrote an anthem to refusing to go to rehab or to stop using drugs was hardly “battling,” she was wallowing.
Don’t get me wrong; I feel bad for Amy Winehouse. As usual, though, I find Queerty’s “reporting” cliche- and inaccuracy-ridden.
Mike
Why is this “gay news”? I have not sympathy for her.
christopher di spirito
I remember all the buzz in 2008 about this extraordinary girl singer in London. I watched her on You Tube and was blown away. Her ‘Back to Black’ CD rocked.
A great talent destroyed by drugs and alcohol.
xander
Drug and alcohol abuse is a disease, thus the use of words such as “struggle” and “battle” isn’t inappropriate, althouch it may be a cliché.
I’m sad to read she has passed on.
Interesting
Can’t say I am surprised. She was a train wreck. Have relatives like her. They always end badly. Sad. She was a real talent.
Kev C
The music industry supplies artists with unlimited dope because the industry is tied to the Mob. I think they should share in the blame. She was talented. RIP.
Oh Dear (John From England)
@Kev C:
Exactly. How many of my friends hang out with her or ANY one into the music scene in London?
JC
Loved her music and was dreading that it might end like this. Very sad, RIP Amy.
Ganondorf
So did she beef it on a drug overdose? I’m shocked. I thought she’d gone to rehab, but I suppose she said… Eh, it’s usually not a good thing when someone dies in this manner. 27, too.
JEFFUWS
So sad. Terrific tribute from Tony Bennett, who recorded the classic pop standard “Body And Soul,” with Winehouse at Abbey Road Studios in London this past March, released a statement to HuffPost and Spinner:
“Amy Winehouse was an artist of immense proportions and I am deeply saddened to learn of her tragic passing. She was an extraordinary musician with a rare intuition as a vocalist and I am truly devastated that her exceptional talent has come to such an early end. She was a lovely and intelligent person and when we recorded together she gave a soulful and extraordinary performance. I was honored to have the opportunity to sing with her. It had been my sincere hope that she would be able to overcome the issues she was battling and I send my deepest sympathy to her father Mitchell, her entire family and all of those who loved her.”
Fitz
@uh huh— really? When did “Rehab” come out? 2006 or so? 5 years.. so the things you did at 22 were the same things you would do at 27?
Since then she tried several times to clean up. Its a fucked up problem, with a lousy
prognosis.
Pete n SFO
Natalie Cole’s mom doesn’t get enough credit. When Nat was careening in addiction, she had her care court-mandated. This kind of addiction is not new. The shame is that despite all the knowledge the disease takes another.
A part of the puzzle is missing when the whole world can see it coming but nothing can be done.
Actor, Carroll O’Connor (Archie Bunker) sued the dealer that provided his son w/ the drugs on which he OD’d. Winehouse’s heirs should sue every manager & assistant that enabled her in any way. She is NOT without responsibility for her own death, but I’m certain the accomplices are plentiful.
Orion
@Mike: Oh, I’m sorry. I guess your ignorant asshole doesn’t care that somebody just died! FYI, she was bisexual that’s why.
jason
It’s terribly sad when a person dies so young. But you need to remember that Amy chose to lead a destructive lifestyle. Destructive lifestyles have consequences. I just wish that she had chosen a better lifestyle so she could still be around.
Bianca
I’m quite surprised at how upset I am about her death. Huge voice and talent and a very tortured soul.
R.I.P Amy………
Bianca
@Mike: How’s that different from a gay artist dying and a straight person saying “Who cares? Just a fag dying”. Soulless fool.
Who Cares
I guess she shoulda said “Yes yes yes” instead of “No no no.”
Politically Incorrect Thug
She had it coming. Who’s kidding who?
jeff4justice
Though we don’t yet know why Amy Winehouse died, it’s clear her life was consumed by addiction. Also, she reportedly was ill with emphysema caused by smoking.
This reminds me why I am glad I have always been sober and drug/cigarette-free and will always be. It’s also a reminder why I’m saddened by the glorification of the partying lifestyle.
My sincerest empathy to anyone struggling with these afflictions.
Steve
And yet the people at NOM or WBC are allowed to live?
RIP Ms. Winehouse. “Rehab” is still my jam.
ChrisC
I’m devastated by her death. I really find it so hard to accept. She was one of my faveorite singers. I’ll never forget winter of 2008/2009 when I would frequently take evening drives and I would always play Amy, amoung others. She was such an extreamly talented woman and could have produced countless more hit songs had she not died. She died an Icon and will quickly become a Legend in death. I’ll never forget you Amy =) xx.
alan Balehead
So Much Cruelty On Here!!! I wonder why equal rights are taking so long again??…
alan Balehead
RIP Sweet Angel….
Rocky
Bye Amy. I will miss you and its such a shame because the world was just getting to know you.
SteveC
This is tragic news. She was a rare talent, and by all accounts a lovely person battling with terrible addictions. RIP Amy. I’ll miss you.
Gigi
@Uh huh: “Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad…” Ya. Sure you do. Her REHAB song was her story. Not wallowing. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think you’re a jerk. Just a tad insensitive. Such a tragic end to a remarkable life!
Gigi
@Mike: Asswipe!
Sebizzar
Nooo :'( I always told myself she’s going to get better 1 day & continue being a successful artist. Just another proof that nothing ever goes right. R.I.P. Amy
k ray
Sad and pathetic waste of life behind dope! There is a reason it is called dope….you are a dope if you use drugs. Just goes to show you that money and fame never bring real contentment!
Jon
No one makes noise like that without suffering, without living. She was an artist grown from grit, and from it, a true sound was born. I was always afraid of this day, half expecting it and half denying that it would happen. This is one of those instances where I really hate not being surprised. Those who don’t feel any sympathy haven’t an ounce of artistry within them, music has suffered a great loss today.
Fitz
1) Why are people so judgmental about her self-caused illness? Do they hang out in front of costco yelling at the diabetics with the 50 lbs bags of tortilla chips? So they go and laugh at the car-crash victim in the ER? Do they stand in front of the HIV testing site with signs that say “serves ya right for making a mistake” ? WTF is up with you feeling that her problems deserve death and public humiliation and yours deserve sympathy and support??
2) WTF is up with your timing, even if you do want to talk about the self destructive nature of drug use? Don’t you think today might just be a day to be respectful to either her memory, or to the people who felt some kind of connection to her?
Maybe it feels like a kind of safety to say “That could never happen to me” to be so ugly. But it does happen– almost all of us will get sick and die of a preventable disease like CHF or cancer, or whatever. Off your perch, bitches.
to you, and me, and almost everyone.
Red Meat
This is why they told you to go to rehab, but you said no, no, no….
GayGOP
God have mercy upon Amy’s soul. The poor woman had an awful set of diseases, and if they were the cause of her death, which seems to me to be likely, then I cannot help but feel even greater sadness at the loss of such a great talent.
jeff4justice
@Fitz: Amen.
rory
@jeff4justice: I second that!
ewe
She was a talent. She was a mess and now she is dead. Many people die from their addictions. Sad.
Adman
@Kev C: Dead on. If you make music for money, you will be surrounded by the “industry” that keeps it’s slaves close to the underground culture while mining their very thoughts. What better method to use than keeping drug dealers alerted at all times? Dope sellers always know the best gossip up to the freaking second. My best friend and bandmate (back in highschool days anyway)is still a studio head these days and can’t do business without being asked to “barter” with drugs involved in the deal of course. It sucks. Guys got a parter, they have a daughter, but these “rainbow family” friends/parasites can’t leave him alone. It’s paying their rent.
So Yo
So what’s happening in Norway again?
ashton cruz
Drug and alcohol addiction is a genetic disease, you can fight it, you can try and hide it, but those of you who suffer from it know is a beast with a smiley face. Lets not Judge Amy, she wasnt weak, she was just sick and she did her best to fight her demon but the demon won. I hope and pray she died of natural causes just so all the heartless people making horrid comments about her could get egg in their face, but even if it was an OD this is not a reason to act all high and mighty but instead a reason to truly understand that addiction is a disease. Beehive hairdos will be flat for a very long time in sorrow over this loss. Please I beg you, dont use her death as a platform for you to be witty, see this death for what it really is, the latest victim of an ongoing understood mental unbalance. Amy didnt go out murdering a classroom full of kids, Amy didnt go out flying an airplane into a building, Amy didnt go out drunk driving her car into a car full of nuns going to church. Amy died all alone, thinking she could handle her demon. Whether you like her or not she deserves to be properly mourned . Lets be truly gay and have some respect for a woman that in her darkest times still believed in our right for true and equal rights. Rest in Peace Amy, and here is me hoping that if there truly is ahe heaven , the band welcoming there will include you as the lead singer along Billy Holiday, Mamma Cass, and Heath Ledger pissing Oscar Wilde off insisting that the cake just isnt gay enough for the occasion. I personally knew Amy, trust me, she was not aware of what would come. She was a messm oh but what a mess. I actually believed in her tales that she was in control, I had no other choice. Peace be with all of you.
Ganondorf
@So Yo:
Seriously? Queerty exists in a bubble of logo and bravo television programming noise. All things superficial and pointless about the gay scene (redefining vapid, hilariously). C’mon, they do stories tracking porn “stars,” and exposing models who beat off on webcams. No connection to the real world or things that actually matter. It is what it is, and criticizing it is like, ummm, well, expecting to be informed after reading the weekly world news, or watching porn to keep abreast of futures trades.