Singer Amy Winehouse leads a remarkably open life for someone so famous. Most celebrities keep a passel of security guards and assistants around them at all times. They buy fancy homes in gated communities. They only sign autographs at premieres. Amy is pretty much the opposite of all those things. You rarely see her with any security other than a friend or her dad. From the description in Rolling Stone, she lives in anything but a fancy, gated home. Winehouse’s fans are often photographed going right up to her door, which she answers herself. She’ll chat and sign autographs. I can’t think of any other celebrity that encourages that kind of access.

In a way it’s really cool – and if she had her act more together in terms of her personal affairs, it’d be easy to say Amy was really down to earth and awesome. Unfortunately all of her openness – or maybe it’s just a refusal to hide – has made Winehouse’s every move pretty easy to document. That’s why it came as a surprise to many that she’s been at a hospital clinic for the last ten days, since her release from another hospital after being diagnosed with emphysema-like symptoms.

Though her rep wasn’t clear, it appears Winehouse is being treated for her lung condition and not specifically for her addictions. She was allowed to leave the clinic twice for concert performances this past weekend – and was also photographed buying cigarettes and booze. After ten days she’s being released.

Amy Winehouse has left the hospital, it was confirmed Tuesday. The performer, who had a busy weekend of concerts, was discharged from the clinic where she has been staying for more than 10 days on Monday.

Her representative, Chris Goodman, said, “She has left [the] hospital. She is continuing as an outpatient.” The singer, 24, returned to the facility during rehearsals and between her performances for Nelson Mandela and at the Glastonbury Festival. But she left for good on Monday.

“She will return for regular appointments for check[-up]s,” said Goodman. He adds, “There comes a time when you are ready to leave the hospital, and so she left. No one was trying to keep her there. It was completely up to her – everyone knew she would not stay there forever”… Goodman says Winehouse is “looking great and feeling great.”

[From People]

I really don’t understand how Amy Winehouse is constantly able to convince doctors that she’s fine. She’s always leaving hospitals and rehabs after what seems like relatively short stays – especially considering her myriad of conditions and the ferocity with which her addictions always seem to return. I realize they can’t lock her down… but it’d sure be great if they could.

Amy wasn’t in the hospital secretly, and a few media outlets mentioned it. Maybe it just didn’t get as much press because it doesn’t exactly raise eyebrows anymore.

Despite the “everything is great!” line her PR guy gave, the Daily Mail reported that Amy immediately went out partying.

The troubled star marked her release from hospital by partying until 4.30am amid fears she’ll resume her bad habits. The Rehab singer visited live music venue The Monarch and stopped in at a kebab shop before returning home to carrying on the party with friends.

A source is quoted in The Sun as saying: ‘We feared a taste of the outside would remind her what she’s missing and it would be hard to get her back into life at the clinic. That’s exactly what’s happened. Sunday was like she was on a terrible comedown from the whole thing. She kicked off and threw all her toys out the pram.

‘She told Mitch [her father]: “I’m climbing the walls in here. I need to get out”. She said if he didn’t help her get out, she’d walk out. ‘He realised he had to let her leave, otherwise he’d have no control over where she goes and what she gets up to.’

[From the Daily Mail]

What’ll it take to get her to straighten out? What hasn’t gone wrong for Amy Winehouse? If she hasn’t hit rock bottom yet, I’m truly afraid to see what her version of the bottom looks like.

Here’s Amy Winehouse leaving her Camden home to go for a walk with an inhaler in her hand after she was released from the hospital last night. She produces an ace of hearts playing card which she asks the photographers to get published for her incarcerated husband. Totally normal. Images thanks to WENN.

Amy Winehouse blew off the photocall for Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday concert in London this weekend. And this was no small affair: Will Smith, Annie Lennox, and Brit singers Sugababes and Leona Lewis were among the dozens of big-named celebs that managed to show up.

Where was Winehouse? I know, the first thought was “Well the poor dear’s been in the hospital, fighting early emphysema and whatnot. Who knows if she’s up to it?” Nope, Amy was stocking up on some serious booze. Well, serious for most of us. It’s more like mother’s milk to her.

Amy Winehouse was spotted shopping for alcohol and sweets today instead of joining her pop contemporaries at a photocall for Friday’s Nelson Mandela concert.

Although the troubled star confirmed she will sing at Mandela’s 90th birthday concert - despite being diagnosed with early stages of emphysema - her snub will no doubt unsettle organisers and fans ahead of the highly-anticipated gig in London’s Hyde Park.

The 24-year-old was released from hospital on Monday after doctors confirmed she has scarring of the lungs which can cause emphysema, but it is treatable.

Despite pledging to honour her live commitments at both Glastonbury and the Mandela concert yesterday and spending an hour-and-a-half in rehearsals since leaving the London Clinic, Winehouse was a no-show today.

Instead she visited her husband Blake Fielder-Civil at London’s Pentonville Prison, before stopping off at an off licence for some Jack Daniels whisky and vodka and a packet of sweets.

[From the Daily Mail]

I’d place the odds of Amy Winehouse actually showing up to perform at 10,000 to one. And I’m guessing I’ll have no takers for that bet.

Amy Winehouse is really a do-it-yourselfer though, isn’t she? Most celebs would send an assistant or some random street urchin to buy their alcohol and fetch their drugs. But Winehouse knows how to keep it real. That means ignoring Nelson Mandela and visiting her jailbird husband, then going home to get soused before falling asleep with a needle still stuck in her vein.

Here’s Amy in February of last year.l Header photo of Amy at a store in October. Images thanks to WENN.

In the upcoming issue of More magazine, actress Jamie Lee Curtis admits that she battled a prescription drug addiction nearly fifteen years ago. She says it started after she had some cosmetic surgery on her eyes and was given a prescription pain killer. Pretty soon she was taking the pills to get high and drinking heavily and combat the loneliness she felt.

The glamorous actress, who became Lady Haden-Guest when her husband inherited his title in 1996, initially hid her dependency from her family. ‘No one knew. Chris didn’t have a clue,’ she says.

The star, whose father was infamous for drug-taking, recalls how her sister Kelly was staying at her mansion while recovering from a broken bone and Jamie Lee began pilfering her pills. Finally, she wrote Kelly a heart-breaking letter which she never sent.
Still stunning: Jamie-Lee Curtis at the Academy 2004

Still stunning: Jamie Lee Curtis arriving at the Oscars in 2004

It said: ‘I’ve been harbouring a bad secret. I have found and taken many of your painkillers. I’ve betrayed you, and I know that you’re angry, and you have every right to be. I am lonely. I take them at night to ease the pain. I was so afraid to tell you.’

[From the Daily Mail]

According to Jamie Lee part of the problem was her low self-esteem that caused her to get plastic surgery in the first place. A camera man had told her she was getting bags under her eyes. And in Hollywood, that’s a big deal. She also claims she drank because she felt ugly to her husband and the world in general.

She has said: ‘I attempted various types of plastic surgery, minutely but enough to stave off this encroaching middle-aged body. And every time I did, something went wrong. I felt misshapen, just not natural any more. I think it was a big stimulator of my drug abuse.’

In the new interview, which apppears in More, a leading US women’s magazine, Jamie Lee says that as part of her recovery she decided to let her hair go grey and stopped wearing high heels. But she admits she has found it difficult striking the right balance.

For a time she ‘got so caught up in not caring about body image’ that she was becoming unfit. ‘So I made a change and lost some weight,’ she says.

[From the Daily Mail]

Larry King’s wife Shawn Southwick King is currently in rehab for a prescription painkiller addiction. Everyone has their own way of dealing with self-esteem issues and feeling unattractive. Certainly drugs and alcohol aren’t uncommon, along with over and under eating. It sounds like Jamie Lee has finally found a balance that works for her – something that can take a lifetime. She also remembers what she’s gone through, and says that she keeps the letter she wrote to her sister as a constant reminder.

Here’s Jamie Lee Curtis being honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on June 11th. Images thanks to WENN.

Larry King’s 26 years-younger wife, Shawn Southwick King, 48, has entered rehab for an addicted to painkillers. An “unnamed friend” of the talk show host says his wife is being treated for a dependence on prescription medication that she was using to treat chronic migraines:

TALKMEISTER Larry King’s stunning TV-personality wife, Shawn Southwick King, 48, has gone into rehab for addiction to painkillers. King, 74, has been married to Southwick, his sixth wife, for 10 years and they have two children together. A friend of King’s confirmed to Page Six, “Shawn is in rehab for medication issues related to her chronic migraine problem.” CNN declined to comment.

[From Page Six]

This is Page Six, who knows if this is true or if they’re softballing the news and making it seem minor out of some loyalty to King. They’ve been known to pick on people for no reason, to make shit up, and to play favorites.

I had a friend who was addicted to Oxycontin after he took it for back pain and it can really take hold of you quickly. It’s relatively easy to get it online and on the street and it causes terrible withdrawal symptoms if you quit cold turkey.

First lady candidate Cindy McCain also went to rehab for painkiller abuse back in 1990s. She has successfully beaten her addiction been drug free ever since and in 1999 told the press the story of her desperate times and the uncontrollable urges that led her to steal drugs from a nonprofit agency she ran.

When stories come out about famous people suffering addiction and real human problems it becomes a little easier for others facing similar issues to seek help. Best wishes to Mrs. King for a successful recovery.

Larry King and Shawn Southwick are shown in the header at the Clive Davis pre-Grammy party on 2/9/08 and below with their sons Chance, 11, and Cannon, 8, at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards on 12/21/07, thanks to PRPhotos.

Actor/Sarah Jessica Parker’s husband (those are apparently equally important titles) Matthew Broderick gave a rather bizarre interview to New York magazine recently, in which he talked about his son’s curiosity about cigarettes. Both Broderick and Parker smoke – though Broderick claims that he gave up smoking and still smokes – all within the same sentence.

“Sarah Jessica Parker still smokes? She, the perfect mother who hates her nannies to be mentioned in news articles? The Greenwich Village icon who starred in a show about sex but refused to take her bra off during the act? No way!”

But apparently it’s so — and the habit rubs off on her husband, Matthew Broderick, and even (gasp!) her 5-year-old son, James Wilkie. At the screening of Broderick’s new vice-filled film, Finding Amanda, where he plays a gamble-holic having an off-the-wagon weekend in Vegas, Ferris Bueller told us all about it.

“I used to smoke cigarettes, and I still do, lately. I gave that up a long time ago, but every now and then I will fall off for a week.” And guess who’s fault that might be? Broderick says SJP is “worse than me on that.” And James Wilkie is “already curious. He’ll see a cigarette butt and say, ‘What is that? Why do people smoke?’ I can just see the little budding gene of a smoker in there.”

[From New York Magazine]

Umm…. umm… so many things I want to say. Struggling to choose which ones. I’m not going to go off on smoking, everyone knows the statistics. What I’m really surprised about is that Matthew Broderick would have such a cavalier attitude towards his son’s relationship with cigarettes – and that such a normally private actor would choose to share such a thing. In sharing it, it seems like Broderick doesn’t understand that this isn’t a good or normal thing.

When I was growing up, the smoking parents of my friends would constantly talk about how bad it was and how they wished they’d never started. Most of them seemed to constantly be making a big deal about how bad it was – seemingly in an attempt to prevent their children from picking up the habit. Several of them smoked in a bathroom or some isolated area. But none of them seemed to have an open, “whatever” sort of attitude about it. If you think you “see the little budding gene of a smoker” in your kid, it seems to me that the least you should do is actively discourage it.

Here’s : Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick and son James Wilke leaving Claridges Hotel in London in September 2005. Header from the US premiere of Sex and the City in New York on May 27th. Images thanks to WENN.

It’s always interesting – and often incredibly sad - to hear addicts talk about their “rock bottom” experience – that moment when they realized their lives were so out of hand and they had fallen so far down that their only options are to finally beat their addiction or die. Normally it’s a really powerful, frightening experience. For Robert Downey Jr, it’s all because of Burger King – and their crappy food.

Robert Downey Jr. has publicly thanked Burger King for helping him overcome his problems with addiction. The fast food chain, he says, also helped to resurrect his career.

The fast food epiphany happened in 2003 when the “Iron Man” star was driving a car piled with “tons of f—ing dope,” Downey Jr. told Britain’s Empire magazine. The actor decided to pull over for a burger and everything changed.

“I have to thank Burger King,” he said. “It was such a disgusting burger I ordered. I had that, and this big soda, and I thought something really bad was going to happen.” Downey Jr. says he then tossed all of his drugs into the ocean, deciding right then and there to clean up his act.

[From the Daily News]

Thanks for sucking so badly Burger King! Seriously, who would have thought that some of the world’s grossest fast food – and if you live in New York City, legendarily rude service – could save a life? Nothing like soggy, cold onion rings to realize how far you’ve fallen. I’m pretty sure Burger King can cure anyone of a junk food addiction – but good to know that it works for others as well.

Here’s Robert Downey Jr. and his wife Susan at the UK film premiere of ‘Iron Man’ at Leicester Square in London on April 24th. Images thanks to WENN.

Amy Winehouse’s longtime friend and producer, Mark Ronson, told reporters that she was in no shape to record the soundtrack for the upcoming James Bond film Quantum of Solace. However Winehouse is claiming that she’s got enough material – good material – to fill up the entire soundtrack. But 007 film bosses still aren’t sure if they want her tunes.

Fiery Amy Winehouse last night told James Bond film bosses to “put up or shut up”. She has been shaken and stirred by claims she has abandoned plans to record the theme tune for new 007 blockbuster Quantum Of Solace. Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star Sunday, the troubled singer said she was delighted with the result of her recording efforts – believed to be without top producer Mark Ronson. And, barely disguising her annoyance at 007’s movie bosses, she said it was now “up to them” if they want the sure-fire hit songs or not.

It is also believed Bond bosses fear using her music in case it detracts from the movie, even though star Daniel Craig recently said: “It would be amazing if she could.” Amy, 24, whose family say is now on the road to recovery, said: “I’ve done loads of Bond songs, there are loads of good ones I’m really happy with. I don’t know what is wrong with them or what the problem is, to be honest. It’s there, ready and done, and it’s up to them if they want it or not.”

Pals say the main track up for consideration is a big Shirley Bassey 60s-type number. Record company bosses are pleased with the “surefire hit”. But Bond chiefs are still dithering. And a source said: “It’s at a delicate stage. Amy is still seen as damaged goods – she will have to prove she’s on the road to recovery before she’s signed up.”

[From the Daily Star]

Several media outlets are reporting that Beyonce has already been tapped to replace Winehouse as the film’s songstress. Though frankly I think her music could detract from the film much more than Amy’s.

I find it curious that the “Bond chiefs” are saying Amy would have to “prove she’s on the road to recovery” to sing the film’s songs. It’d be one thing if they had yet to be recorded, and thus studio bosses were afraid she couldn’t follow through. But Winehouse is claiming they’re already done. So unless the studio doesn’t like the music, I can’t see what the problem is.

I guess it’s possible the studio might want Winehouse to perform a few songs from the soundtrack to promote the film. That could be problematic. Either way, it could only help Amy to be on the “road to recovery” as they put it. She sounds pretty annoyed with them, and it sounds like it’s quite likely her songs will never see the light of day… or the darkness of a movie theater.

Here’s Amy, answering her door to sign autographs barefoot and wearing only a bra on Friday. Images thanks to WENN.

Supposedly Amy Winehouse is making another attempt at rehab. It’s hard to get psyched up on her behalf anymore. I’ve lost count of how many times she’s gone in the last year. And after every time she rallies she seems to fall even harder than before. And enjoy it more. I mean the girl really seems to relish all the attention she gets for being a major f*** up. That’s really the only way I can put it at this point.

According to the Sun, Amy is going to Israel for some novel approach to rehab. It’s based on one doctor’s belief that addiction is a neurological problem, not a psychological or social one. The details are vague, but he claims it cures everyone of addiction. Which makes me pretty darn skeptical.

Amy Winehouse will fly to Israel in a bid to beat her drug addiction, according to the chairman of the country’s Anti-Drug Authority. Eliezer Cohen says the Ivor Novello Award winning singer will undergo a “very short, intensive and effective treatment” costing £6,400.

He told the Jewish Chronicle: “Amy’s people spoke to a renowned Israeli institution and an Israeli professor who conducts a very special and effective method. She has requested to come to him to do this method, since it’s a method that is suitable for her.”

Andre Waismann, who will treat Amy, said: “All of my patients are discharged healthy and no longer dependent. There is a misunderstanding about drug addiction. People think it is a social and psychological problem, but it’s a neurological problem.

“Whether it’s Amy Winehouse or anyone else, it is a privilege to be able to treat anyone who is opiate-dependent, and allow them to live a normal life.”

[From the Sun]

So I’m guessing doctors don’t stress confidentiality so much in Israel? There are a lot of theories as to the origins of addiction, and even more ideas about the best way to treat it. It sounds like Amy’s family must be getting pretty desperate if they’re willing to send her so far away to get help. There are some pretty novel approaches to treating addicts, and it seems like at this point Amy should try just about anything that might work. Even just fewer drugs would be nice. What low expectations.

Amy won a prestigious the Ivor Novello Award last night for her songwriting. She showed up late to the ceremony and her father Mitch had to accept the award on her behalf. Though the fact that Amy showed up at all is impressive.

Here’s Amy leaving her Camden home at 1:30 a.m. Thursday morning with her bags packed, and heading for a hotel. She appears to have a small spot of blood on her vest, as well as fresh cut marks on her arm, and sores on her hands. Images thanks to WENN.

I used to optimistically hypothesize that Amy Winehouse’s life was getting better, if for no other reason than the fact that she had stopped roaming the streets of London at three in the morning in bloody ballet slippers. Well if possible her life is in even bigger shambles now than it was last summer.

Amy’s had multiple arrests in just a few short weeks, and seems to have given up even trying. You could easily ask yourself, “Wait, she was trying before?” Well, I mean trying for Amy Winehouse. I mean the woman actually spent a day sans beehive. That’s got to be indicative of some type of deep identity crisis or a form of psychosis for her.

After being formally arrested in London yesterday for her legendary performance on her crack video, Amy proceeded to wander around London at four in the morning. She took a jaunt over to a gas station to load up on some healthy snacks, chatted with photographers, and queried them as to what her next tattoo should be. You know, just like all normal celebrities.

If Amy Winehouse was at all concerned about her second arrest in as many weeks, it certainly didn’t show as she roamed the streets 4am this morning.

The troubled singer left her Camden home in the early hours to dash to a petrol station where she collected supplies including magazines and drinks, chatting happily to photographers during her outing.

With her trademark beehive wrapped up in a red bandanna with her husband’s name emblazoned on it, the ever-erratic singer asked the paparazzi for suggestions for a new tattoo.

It was just hours after she visited a London police station by appointment yesterday afternoon before being arrested for possession of Class A drugs and later released on bail.

[From the Daily Mail]

I really hate to say it, but it seems like Amy is on the absolute brink. To say she’s spiraled out of control is such a massive understatement. And while you never ever want to acknowledge that someone could do some serious harm to themselves, it seems like Amy is just a step or two away from total destruction.

Though she’s certainly gone through hard times before, you would hear a lot about her family – especially her father – at least trying to help her, however unsuccessfully. It showed that she had some form of emotional support. Now you hardly hear a word about them, which makes you wonder who Amy’s got left to rely on. Someone needs to look out for her – clearly she can’t do it for herself.

Here’s Amy just a week ago. Look at the dramatic change in her appearance during just seven days time. Images thanks to Splash.

David Hasselhoff served as a judge on the competition show “America’s Got Talent,” and according to the tabloids this week he came away with more than a paycheck and some much-needed publicity. 55 year-old Hasselhoff was seen at Coachella with 29 year-old singer and harpist Corina Brouder, who was a contestant on the show. The two are said to have stayed at the same hotel while they were away at the music festival and Hasselhoff even went to one of her live performances last month:

The American’s Got Talent judge spent the weekend with former contestant Corina Brouder!

“David had his arms around Corina at one point,” says an onlooker at the show on April 27. “They were flirting and acting very much like a couple.”

Corina, 29, a harpist and singer from NY, was saved from elimination during the show’s 2006 season when David, 55, chose her as his wildcard pick.

She didn’t grab the top spot, but David remained a fan of her music…

While David’s rep says the two are just friends, romance may be blooming. “Corina stayed in his hotel room,” says the insider.

[From In Touch, print edition, May 12, 2008]

David Hasselhoff has been in alcohol detox more times that I can keep track. He spent the Christmas holidays in rehab after an intervention from his family, but has been in detox since. He’s had a longterm girlfriend who stood by him through the tough times, but maybe she had enough and couldn’t take his ongoing addiction problems.

Hasselhoff was said to have behaved like he was wasted during a taping of America’s Got Talent on April 2 in which audience members said “he made no sense,” and seemed “messed up.” He fell asleep at the judges’ table at one point, putting his feet up and closing his eyes. [From In Touch, print edition, April 21, 2008]

Maybe the Hoff has found new love with a much younger woman, but given how he looked at Coachella it doesn’t seem like he’s beaten his demons yet. He had bruises around his eyes and generally appeared wasted.

David Hasselhoff is shown at Coachella on 4/25/08, thanks to WENN. Corina Brouder is shown in a still from her website.