It makes me sad to report on Amy Winehouse at all. She passed away this July and initial reports said that she didn’t have any drugs in her system at the time. I thought that the case was closed and that we might never know why and how Amy died. Her family said she had recently given up drugs and drinking cold turkey, and they speculated that she may have died from alcohol withdrawal. Sadly it looks like she died from alcohol poisoning. She had five times the legal limit in her system, according to the coroner.

Amy Winehouse’s July 23 death was the “unintended consequence” of drinking too much alcohol, British coroner Suzanne Greenaway announced Wednesday.

Ruling that it was “death by misadventure,” the coroner stated that Winehouse, 27, was more than five times over the legal limit, according to the inquest, and two large bottles and one small bottle of vodka were found in the bedroom of her London home.

Winehouse was an “intelligent, determined young woman who, at times, was able to successful abstain from alcohol,” the coroner said while announcing the cause of death as “alcohol toxicity.”

Winehouse’s parents, Mitch and Janis, were in the court to hear the verdict. At the end, Mitch, a taxi driver and singer, embraced his daughter’s doctor, Christina Romete.

Earlier, the physician had told the court that she last saw Winehouse on the evening before her death. The singer, who had successfully battled drugs problems, had started drinking again after a period of abstinence, Dr. Romete said.

Romete said Winehouse had been “tipsy” but “calm” and coherent and “able to hold a conversation” during the visit. “She didn’t want to die, she was looking forward to the future,” the doctor added.

Winehouse’s family had suggested that stopping drinking might have caused Winehouse’s sudden death. It earlier has been determined that no illegal drugs had been found in her system.

After learning of the cause of death, Winehouse’s family issued a statement, saying, “It is some relief to finally find out what happened to Amy. We understand there was alcohol in her system when she passed away; it is likely a build up of alcohol in her system over a number of days. The court heard that Amy was battling hard to conquer her problems with alcohol and it is a source of great pain to us that she could not win in time.”

[From People]

It bothers me that the news about the death has been released over several months. I understand that these tests take time and that it must take time to write up a report and schedule a court date to make the announcement. How hard must it be for the family, though, to finally hear the cause of death after three months? That’s just when they’re probably coming to terms with everything, and now this brings it all up again. It seemed like we already heard how she died. As the family said in their statement though, at least they know now. RIP Amy.

If you haven’t read this interview with Amy’s last boyfriend yet, you might want to see it. He says some lovely and heartbreaking things about her. Particularly “we were halfway through a conversation in our life together and then, suddenly, she disappeared.”

Just hours after Amy Winehouse’s death was made public, the British tabloids managed to get their hands on various crack dealers in and around Winehouse’s neighborhood, some of whom had sold Amy drugs in the past. They were looking to see when Amy had last bought, and they found one dealer who claimed that Amy had bought crack and heroin on her last night on earth. Most of us were like, “Yeah, that makes sense.” Amy’s family claimed that she wasn’t on drugs anymore, that her only problem was alcohol. Well, it’s looking like Amy’s family was right – the toxicology report has come out, and Amy didn’t have any drugs in her system when she died.

After her tragic death in July there was considerable speculation regarding the cause of Amy’s death. But today it has been announced that the toxicology results have been returned to the Winehouse family by authorities and confirm that there were no illegal substances in Amy’s system at the time of her death.

In statement released today a spokesperson for the family said: ‘Results indicate that alcohol was present but it cannot be determined as yet if it played a role in her death. The family would like to thank the police and coroner for their continuing thorough investigations and for keeping them informed throughout the process. They await the outcome of the inquest in October.’

Shortly after Amy’s death a London drug fixer claimed he helped Amy buy £1,200 of crack cocaine and heroin the night before she died. Tony Azzopardi alleged he helped the late singer buy the Class A narcotics in the early hours of July 23rd – the same day she was found dead in her London home. The 56-year-old, who was introduced to the tragic star by her ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, claimed he wanted her family to ‘know the truth about what happened’.

At Amy’s funeral shortly after her death her father Mitch Winehouse told mourners that his daughter had managed to kick her drink and drugs habits.

He told friends and family: ‘Three years ago, Amy conquered her drug dependency, the doctors said it was impossible but she really did it. She was trying hard to deal with her drinking and had just completed three weeks of abstinence. She said, “Dad, I’ve had enough of drinking. I can’t stand the look on your and the family’s faces any more”‘.

It was also at Amy’s funeral that Mitch outlined that he would like to do something in the singer’s name to help people who suffered with the same problems that Amy did.

Mitch said: ‘I was with my cousin Michael when I heard and straight away I said I wanted an Amy Winehouse Foundation, something to help the things she loved – children, horses, but also to help those struggling with substance abuse. In this country, if you cannot afford a private rehabilitation clinic, there is a two-year waiting list for help. With the help of Keith Vaz MP, we are trying to change that.’

But Mitch’s plans for a foundation have been scuppered by an opportunist who has already registered the name of the charity in the hope of cashing in. Uxbridge resident Martin McCann bought the web address Amywinehousefoundation.com and paid £160 to register the Amy Winehouse Foundation Ltd with Companies House on August 2. But he insists he is ‘not exploiting anything’ and advised critics to ‘detach yourself from emotions and think business’.

As a result, Mitch has now been forced to return donations to fans because he was unable to set up a bank account in that name. Plans have now been put on hold while solicitors try to rectify the situation.

On Saturday, Mitch revealed his anger and said: ‘We all have to bombard the tabloids websites to put pressure on this d******* who stole our foundation name. Instead of concentrating on allocating funding I am having to send cheques back cos we don’t haven’t got bank ac in that name. Mitch’ (sic)

[From The Mail]

I don’t know – I’m sure this will be fodder for some conspiracy theories, but I don’t have a problem with believing that Amy was only consuming alcohol on the night of her death. I tend to think her body simply gave up after years and years of alcohol and drug abuse, and Amy’s on-again/off-again teetotaling probably didn’t help either.

Poor Amy.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

Janice Dickinson is 56 years old. Compare these photos with that post that I did the other day on 53-year-old Sharon Stone. Any reasonable person would expect a pair of 50-something to look roughly (emphasis on “ROUGH”) the same, age-wise. But while Sharon Stone either seems to be aging naturally or she’s only gotten a few modest things done, Janice Dickinson is balls-out gross-looking in these new photos from last night. What’s strange to me is that I really think Janice goes in and consults doctors to maintain this sketchy look. I feel like the Botox is building up in Janice’s face. I feel like it’s trying to leak out of her eyes, out of her pores.

By the way, Janice has hopped on the Amy Winehouse bandwagon. Janice gave a recent interview where she claimed that she had befriended Amy shortly before her death: “She was desperate and her life had become suddenly unmanageable and she wanted to see if I could help her.” By the way, THAT is how you know Winehouse was in trouble – she was reaching out to JANICE.

So of course Dr. Drew had to insert himself into the situation too. He claims, “Believe it or not she was trying to contact me which was weird. Janice Dickinson told me that. I remember getting calls from Europe and thinking, ‘What the hell is this?’ Janice Dickinson, several times on my HLN program, claimed that she gave Amy my number, and that she was reaching out.” For God’s sake. Well, Janice and Dr. Drew, it’s your word against a dead girl’s, so I guess you bitches win.

Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.

Last time we spoke of Demi Lovato (it was yesterday, actually), it was in terms of her hopeful avoidance of the cracked-out Disney starlet example of one Lindsay Lohan. Now, Demi has stepped out in Los Angeles with a clearly visible cell phone sticker that reads, “Heroin Killed The Radio Star.” While it’s easy to draw a temporal connection between Demi’s sticker and Amy Winehouse’s untimely death, E! Online is quick on the draw with a more rational explanation:

Did Demi Lovato have an ulterior motive in mind when she affixed a sticker with an antidrug slogan to her cell phone?

Virtual fingers were pointing all over the Internet after the singer was spotted toting the message “Heroin killed the radio star” on her mobile.

What did it mean?! Was it a nod at Amy Winehouse’s recent passing? Or were people just peeved that “Video Killed the Radio Star” had been repurposed without their consent?

It’s just a reminder of the danger of drugs, people!

A source close to Lovato confirms to E! News that Lovato’s sticker is merchandise from a brand founded by a friend of hers called Sober Is Sexy, and that a portion from every sale is donated to a substance-abuse organization.

Sure enough, the Soberissexy.com home page features a girl wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Heroin Killed the Radio Star.” Also for sale are shirts with the slogans “The Only Coke I Do Is Diet” and “Don’t Die.”

Incidentally, there are also tees with Amy Winehouse’s image and one of the perennially in trouble Pete Doherty, a design the brand has labeled “God Save the Pete.”

[From E! Online]

While some people would be quick to point out, in light of Lovato’s alleged (and completely undocumented) history of substance abuse, the public relations advantage of an anti-drug stance, I’d also like to return to the convenient comparison point of Lindsay Lohan. Aside from the obvious denouncement from Lovato concerning the (dubious) magic of public relations, there has never been any statement from the Lohan camp that drugs are bad. Instead, it’s only been a case of blanket denials that Lindsay has ever used drugs. In contrast, there’s a more lucid awareness on the part of Lovato that drugs are definitely nothing but trouble, and Demi clearly wishes to communicate this to her fans. So …. is she being truthful? Yes, I think so.

Photos courtesy of Fame

These are photos of Lady Gaga outside of the ABC studio of The View, where she was a guest panelist yesterday. She spent the whole hour with the ladies, which sounds pretty interesting. I’m trying not to give in to watching The View on any kind of regular basis, but if they continue to invite Lady Gaga on as the cokehead-version of Elisabeth Hasselbeck, I might have to start watching this junk. Anyway, the big news out of Gaga’s sit-down were her on-going thoughts on Amy Winehouse. She talked about Amy last week too, when she made Amy’s death all about GAGA. Guess what she did on The View? Yep. Gaga told the ladies that after Amy’s death:

“I am just so devastated and so sad and I really could not speak for 48 hours straight I was in such shock. I think the most unfortunate thing about it all is the way that the media spins things, like we can learn from Amy’s death. I don’t feel that Amy needed to learn any lessons. I felt that the lesson was for the world to be kinder to the superstar. Everybody was so hard on her, and everything that I knew about her was that she was the most lovely and nice and kind woman. You know, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t enjoy listening to someone sing sad songs about the blues and heartbreak and then not expect them to be truly heartbroken.”

Wait, what? Amy didn’t need to learn any lessons? We just needed to be nice to her and that would have made everything better? Ah, no. Amy was an alcoholic and addict who self-destructed over the course of years. She really could have used some lessons, but unfortunately for her, for us, for her family and her fans, she was never forced into a situation where she was anything but coddled, ignored or encouraged. But of course, Gaga isn’t really talking about Amy there. She’s talking about how she wants to be treated, and how no one is supposed to call her out on her drug and alcohol abuse. I swear, the part of the interview where Gaga talks about her drug use, it sounds like it’s coming from a Lohan:

Cokehead, please. STFU.

Here’s Gaga’s View performance of “You & I”. Um… this is the first time I’ve ever heard the song. Elton John much?

Photos courtesy of Fame & WENN.

Over the weekend, on of the British tabloids claimed that at the time of her death, Amy Winehouse was in the process of adopting a 10-year-old girl from St. Lucia. Amy’s extended stay in St. Lucia was through most of 2009. She and Blake Incarcerated had left each other, and Amy was allegedly on the island to work on a new album. Instead of working, though, she mostly just got drunk with locals and tourists and made lots of new friends. Apparently, Amy met the 10-year-old girl (named Dannika Augustine) and her family then, and Amy was working on becoming Dannika‘s legal guardian and bringing her to London.

Dannika claims, “Amy was already my mother. I would call her Mum. And she would call me her daughter. She took care of me, and we had fun together. I loved her, and she loved me.” Dannika‘s grandmother claims, “Amy loved Dannika with all her heart. I don’t know why Amy took to Dannika above all the other children on the island, but from the moment they met, they were inseparable. They would spend all day playing, horse-riding and walking up and down the beach hand in hand.” The mom also wanted to go along with it too!

But! A rep for Winehouse tells Gossip Cop, “There’s no truth to it.” Weird, right? Even though Gossip Cop is bashing anyone who believes the story, I think there’s more to it than a simple denial of everything. My guess is that Amy actually did want to adopt the girl but simply didn’t have any follow-through, so nothing legal ever happened.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

You know how Paz de la Huerta is a plate full of Crazy? One of my new favorite things is an interview from Paz. I really don’t think Paz’s “people” (does she have people?) let her speak that much. They usually just let her take off her clothes for photo shoots, and I feel like she’s being actively encouraged to stay away from journalists, lest she unleash more insane quotes. Remember the NYT interview where Paz talked about how Elvis’s ghost gave her an O? And then she claimed that her sister was always jealous of her, even when she was in the womb, so her sister punched their mother’s stomach? Plate full of crazy.

So Paz has a new interview with the NY Observer, and there are some real gems here. Paz discusses her on-going legal problems (for drunkenly smashing a glass into a reality star’s face), Amy Winehouse and how she (Paz) is a director now.

Paz de la Huerta has kept herself busy between court dates for the altercation she had with reality star Samantha Swetra last Spring. The “Boardwalk Empire” actress is directing a film which she calls her version of The Red Shoes, The New York Observer is reporting.

“I’m finishing directing a film of mine,” she told the daily. It’s “about a woman who‘s unique, and lives in a small village, and is ostracized for being different, for being talented, and then she makes a horrible mistake and because the people in the village are so—you know—jealous of her, they don’t forgive her.”

De la Huerta, who will be acting out the role of the woman, added how this film is a “very important story to tell, especially in an age when the media has to take responsibility for their actions.”

“Look what just happened to Amy Winehouse! Maybe had she not seen so many bad pictures of herself she would have gotten more self esteem,” Ms. Huerta offered, “and not been so self-destructive.”

As to her legal affairs, de la Huerta is trying to stay positive, reinforcing her attorney’s abilities. “I’m not nervous, I have an amazing lawyer,” de la Huerta told The New York Observer. “I learned a lesson from that and it’s important to stay away from publicity-seeking people. You know?” She said, referring to Swetra.

“I just hope for the best outcome,” de la Huerta added. “I want to move on with my life.”

[From Fox News]

Shall I take it point by point?

1. Her film is about “a woman who‘s unique, and lives in a small village, and is ostracized for being different, for being talented… the people in the village are… jealous of her, they don’t forgive her.” Paz IS that girl! It’s a documentary about her life! She’s so brilliant and talented and no one understands her and all of us are just jealous! This is honestly what goes on in her head.

2. Re: her Amy Winehouse comment – “Look what just happened to Amy Winehouse! Maybe had she not seen so many bad pictures of herself she would have gotten more self esteem… and not been so self-destructive.” Paz is blaming Amy for not only being the subject of bad photos, but for looking at all of the bad photos of herself. I think Paz was trying to blame the media for printing bad photos of celebrities, but… it’s just such a superficial complaint. Amy self-destructed because she saw bad photos of herself, in Paz’s mind.

3. “I learned a lesson from that and it’s important to stay away from publicity-seeking people. You know?” Translation: I’ve learned nothing. I will continue to get wasted and start fights with whoever I want. Watch out.

Photos courtesy of Fame & WENN.

These are some photos from Amy Winehouse’s funeral today. Is it wrong to say that people really pulled it together and looked especially nice for the service? They really did. Mark Ronson wore a lovely suit and looked dapper and handsome, and Kelly Osbourne wore a really great black suit, and she did her hair up in an Winehouse-style beehive. Nevermind that Amy wasn’t doing the beehive so much in her later years, or that Amy’s beehive never looked this neat and maintained. It’s just a little thing, but it moved me that Kelly paid tribute to Amy with her hair. I think it’s super sweet.

I didn’t even know that Kelly and Amy were tight, but maybe their relationship was built on their shared drug histories. Courtney Love had some stories about Kelly’s drug past drug usage, so I could totally see Amy and Kelly being birds of a feather for a short time. Over the weekend, Kelly tweeted about Amy’s death, writing: “i cant even breath right my now im crying so hard i just lost 1 of my best friends. i love you forever Amy & will never forget the real you!” She also told a Twitter commenter to STFU when the commenter slammed her for not doing more to help Amy.

At the funeral service (which took place at a synagogue), Amy’s favorite song was played: Carole King’s “So Far Away”. That’s a beautiful song.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

Yesterday, the preliminary autopsy results came back on Amy Winehouse, but we still don’t know exactly how she died because it’s going to take weeks to find out toxicology. In the meantime, there is more news. Amy’s family plan to cremate her today in London. Blake Fielder-Civil will not be getting out of prison for the funeral, nor do Amy’s parents want him there. Amy’s album Back to Black has skyrocketed up to number one on iTunes, and I suspect Amy’s music will be topping many charts yet again around the world. But the biggest news today is that Amy’s boyfriend at the time of her death, Reg Traviss, has finally given an interview. He seems genuinely broken up, and I do think he loved Amy and was trying to take care of her:

AMY Winehouse’s heartbroken boyfriend spoke yesterday of his grief over her death – and admitted: “I can’t describe what I am going through.”

Film director Reg Traviss, 35, wept beside fans who paid tribute to the singer outside her North London home. And he said after the 27-year-old’s “untimely” death on Saturday: “I want to thank all those who are mourning the loss of Amy – such a beautiful, brilliant person and my dear love.”

Distraught Reg said Amy had been upbeat and full of life in the days leading to her death. He said Amy had been excitedly choosing clothes to go to a pal’s wedding on Sunday. He added: “Amy kept trying to decide what to wear. She had laid out her dresses to make up her mind. She was really looking forward to it.”

But on Saturday the film director’s world came crashing down when he learned Amy had been found dead in bed at her home. Reg said: “The last three days have been hell. We have suffered a terrible untimely loss and want peace now. I can’t describe what I am going through and I want to thank so much all of the people who have paid their respects and who are mourning the loss of Amy, such a beautiful, brilliant person and my dear love. I have lost my darling who I loved very much.”

Reg, speaking of Amy for the first time since her death, gave an account of her final days that scotched rumours she had been in a drug-fuelled haze.

He said: “She has been full of life and so upbeat recently, exercising everyday and doing yoga. This terrible thing that happened is like an accident.”

Reg, son of a London publican, had being seeing Amy for two years. Amy’s family were delighted. They saw clean-cut Reg as the perfect boyfriend after her catastrophic marriage to junkie Blake Fielder-Civil – the man blamed for getting her hooked on hard drugs. Dad Mitch had given their relationship his full blessing. A source said: “Reg has been dignified throughout his relationship with Amy. The family love him dearly. He’s a good guy. What happened in their life together remained private because he was determined to help get her back on her feet properly. He wasn’t interested in the limelight – unlike a lot of her exes.”

Reg, who spent yesterday with Mitch, Amy’s mum Janis, brother Alex and manager Raye Cosbert, did his utmost to keep Amy safe from her demons. But he spent a large part of the past 12 months working on his latest movie, Screwed. Filming took him away from home. That left Amy to her own devices in London – and at the mercy of those who preyed on her addictions. The source added: “When Reg was around, Amy was a different girl. He was a calming influence and kept her away from trouble. He really cared for her. When he was away working, the parasites always crept back in and dragged her into the gutter.” One of Amy’s last public outings with Reg was at the low-key premiere for Screwed last month.

The exact cause of Amy’s death is not yet known. A post mortem carried out yesterday was inconclusive and the results of toxicology tests will take weeks to process. But the singer’s family believe she was killed by either a heart attack or a fatal seizure. Amy had regular heart palpitations and had suffered a number of seizures – caused by the terrible pounding her body had taken during years of abuse.

A source said: “Amy’s family are expecting the outcome to be a heart attack or seizure and will be really shocked if it’s not. They staunchly believe it had nothing at all to do with recent drug binges. In the end it was her booze addiction that killed her. She had had a number of seizures in the past six months due to the amount she was drinking. She was putting so much away towards the end, her heart just couldn’t take it.”

In May, while on the way into rehab at the Priory, Amy stopped at a cornershop and downed a bottle of vodka. Doctors at the famous clinic monitored her heart and told her she was drinking herself to death. When her European tour was scrapped last month after a shambolic drunken performance in Belgrade she hit the bottle even harder. Two weeks ago, she blacked out three times in a week after vodka binges. Amy recently bumped into her former stylist near her home in Camden, North London, and was so drunk she failed to recognise her.

A source added: “She would drink herself into oblivion. It was heartbreaking to see Amy that wasted.”

[From The Sun]

When Reg and Amy got together, it was widely reported that Reg practiced some tough love with her and told her that he would be out the door if she continued to be such a liquor-soaked mess. But I always thought they were on-again/off-again, especially when Amy looked like a mess over the past few months. I thought Reg had gone off and left Amy to fend for herself. I don’t mean that as an accusation – I think if he did dump her a few times over the past year, it was likely self-preservation on his part. It’s very difficult to watch someone you love kill themselves with drugs and alcohol.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Why did I think that Amy Winehouse’s autopsy was going to be totally completed today and that we would have conclusive answers quickly? Some days, I’m surprised by own naiveté. The initial autopsy was completed today, but it’s going to be two to four weeks until toxicology is known. Meaning, we still don’t know what killed her, but the coroner is comfortable saying that this was not a “natural death”.

Investigators may not know what killed singer Amy Winehouse until they get results from lab tests on her blood and tissue, due in about two to four weeks, according to Scotland Yard Monday.

An autopsy was completed at St. Pancras Mortuary Monday afternoon, two days after the singer died in her London apartment.

“It did not establish a formal cause of death and we await the results of further toxicology tests,” a police statement said.

An inquest into her death was opened Monday, the statement said.

“Inquiries continue into the circumstances of the death,” London’s Metropolitan Police, also known as Scotland Yard, said in a statement Sunday. At this stage, the 27-year-old’s death “is being treated as unexplained and there have been no arrests in connection with the incident,” police said.

[From CNN]

I really hope this doesn’t become one of those deaths where conspiracy theories grow like weeds. I’m thinking about Kurt Cobain, for one. I still hear different, bizarre theories about his death. If everyone is like “we have to wait to see what was in her bloodstream” that means “she was on drugs.” You could also go to “she was poisoned” but… this is Amy. I’m not saying her death wasn’t a loss, or that the grief of her family, friends and fans isn’t real. I’m just saying that she was an addict and an alcoholic, and that’s what killed her.

Photos courtesy of WENN.