Amy Winehouse’s ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, has said the pair’s drug use has been exaggerated and “Amy didn’t do anything Amy didn’t want to do”.
Fielder-Civil said that for too long he has been the only person in the late singer’s life who has taken responsibility for the unhealthy habits surrounding the star, who died in 2011 at the age of 27.
He also defended himself against claims that he “cashed in” by selling stories to the press about their marriage, claiming it was necessary after being reduced to a desperate financial state because of media attention.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, he parried the accusations by presenter Piers Morgan that he had looked to profit from the memory of his ex-wife, and that their marriage was not as turbulent as reported in the media.
He said: “The drug thing has been attributed to me for years. Me and Amy only used drugs together maybe six months of our marriage. I did heroin maybe four or five times.
“I feel I am the only person who has ever taken responsibility. I feel that there has been a certain sort of shift in the blame to other parties, but I feel that I always took responsibility before that. Amy didn’t do anything Amy didn’t want to do.”
Fielder-Civil questioned the motivation of a show featuring a hologram of Winehouse which is to tour worldwide, criticising the attempts to make money from a fake live show.
Morgan countered that he had himself taken money from the press to speak about his relationship with Winehouse.
Fielder-Civil replied: “The story that I sold was more about me taking responsibility for Amy’s situation at the time.
“To call it cashing in is a bit misleading. I would have done it without any payment. The reasons that I ended up taking money was that I had been in a situation or through my own sort of doing, where I found it really hard to get a job for a long time. I couldn’t really earn money any other way.”
Fielder-Civil is now in a relationship and has two children, although he said he still has feelings for Winehouse.
The Winehouse family said in a statement: “All the family’s proceeds from the hologram tour will go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation which is helping 1000s of young people around the UK and abroad through its drugs and alcohol education, music programmes, women’s recovery house and much more.
“Though there has been positive reaction from her fans, not everyone has to welcome the hologram. But ultimately Amy believed passionately in helping those in need and that is a vital part of her legacy we want to secure.”