Late singer Amy Winehouse’s friends ‘took advantage’ of father, London court told

LONDON – Two friends of late British singer Amy Winehouse, who sold items belonging to the star worth around £730,000 (S$1.2 million), “took advantage” of her father’s forgetfulness, a lawyer said on Jan 27 at London’s High Court.

Her former stylist Naomi Parry and friend Catriona Gourlay sold dozens of items, including a black Armani bag and dresses Winehouse wore on her last tour in June 2011.

Both deny acting dishonestly and say the items had been given or lent to them by the singer, even if there was no proof.

Winehouse’s father Mitch Winehouse has brought a British lawsuit against the pair, alleging they did not have the right to sell the items, which were sold between November 2021 and May 2023.

Mr Henry Legge, representing Mr Winehouse, said it was claimed in an e-mail to the late singer’s father and his ex-wife Janis that the sale involved just a “few things”, a description the lawyer said was “grossly misleading”.

The court heard earlier that the two women sold 150 objects that had belonged to Amy Winehouse.

Ms Parry realised that Mr Winehouse was, in her words, “lazy” about keeping tabs on such matters, Mr Legge said. “It is clear that they took advantage of his (Mr Winehouse’s) forgetfulness,” he added.

The lawyer also hit back at suggestions he said came from the defendants’ side that Mr Winehouse was in some way “venal” or dishonest, and that the lawsuit was “motivated by that”. He described it as one of a number of “cheap shots”.

‘Gifts’

Amy Winehouse, who enjoyed meteoric global success, died in July 2011 from alcohol poisoning, aged 27. She was a distinctive figure with her beehive hairdo, heavy black eye make-up, multiple tattoos and smoky voice.

She shot to international fame with her Grammy-winning album Back To Black (2006), which included the track Rehab, charting her battle with addiction.

According to court documents, her father believed that any sums collected from the sales organised by Los Angeles-based Julien’s Auctions would be due to him.

The auctioneers had also been told that a third of the proceeds would be donated to the Amy Winehouse Foundation – a charity set up in the singer’s name working with young people to foster hope and self-reliance. But Mr Winehouse’s team has accused the women of failing to donate the share of proceeds to the foundation.

Ms Parry’s lawyer Beth Grossman, rejecting the accusations, said she and Ms Gourlay had different relationships with Winehouse. Yet their accounts of the singer’s “generosity” and how the items came to be in their possession were “very similar”.

Ms Gourlay’s lawyer Ted Loveday argued at an earlier hearing that demanding proof of loaning or gifting was unrealistic in the circumstances. “If a 19-year-old gives a scarf or a pair of earrings to their friends, no one signs a contract,” he said.

A judgment in the case will be given at a later date. AFP