Many people in the public eye sanitise and sugarcoat their words but that was never Amy Winehouse’s style. Straight-talking and sharp-witted, the musician was brutally honest. That same tenacity is immediately seen in her mother, Janis Winehouse.
The 72-year-old, whose only daughter died from alcohol poisoning 15 years ago today, has multiple sclerosis (MS) and issues with memory loss, but remains lively and incisive.
“She was a victim of her own success,” Janis tells The i Paper in a rare interview. “She didn’t want it, but it just followed her. And she’d be like, ‘Who, me?’” Discussing her daughter’s battle with drug and alcohol addiction, she argues that many people misunderstand how addiction works. “Once you’re addicted, you’re addicted,” she reflects. “The only boss is the addiction. People say, ‘Oh, no, you just stop doing such and such’.” They don’t get it. You can’t stop because your body is saying I need it.”
When I ask what she believes contributed to Amy’s well-documented addiction issues, she points to her lack of confidence. “She was actually nervous,” Janis reflects. “She didn’t have confidence. Hence the alcohol. I think it’s the same with many, many addicts with alcohol. The alcohol takes away the pain. And that is a horrible thing with addiction.”
