Scotland Yard started an investigation Wednesday into a video that
allegedly shows troubled British singer Amy Winehouse smoking
crack.
The British tabloid, The Sun, released grainy footage
showing Grammy-nominated Winehouse, 24, inhaling fumes from a pipe.
The video was reportedly shot hours before she attended a court
hearing for her jailed husband.
Police will look at the video before deciding whether any
charges should be brought against Winehouse, a Metropolitan Police
spokesman said while speaking on condition of anonymity in line
with force policy. The Sun gave the police the video, he
said.
Winehouse spokesman Shane O'Neill said he was unable to comment
on the investigation.
In the video, Winehouse lights a pipe in front of a photo that
appears to have been taken on the day of her wedding to Blake
Fielder-Civil.
Winehouse's father, Mitch Winehouse, said in an interview with
The Sun that he was devastated by the images and hoped it
would prompt his daughter to turn her life around.
"Your video of Amy taking drugs may well be the best thing that
has ever happened to her," the newspaper quoted him as saying.
Universal Records, Winehouse's record label, said it would do
what it could to help her.
"We are deeply disappointed and upset by these latest
revelations and are doing everything we can to offer Amy our full
support in dealing with her problems," it said in a statement
Tuesday.
The singer's public demise amid allegations of drug use and
lackluster musical performances have provided fodder for Britain's
notoriously scandal-hungry newspapers.
Last month, the troubled singer, whose songs include "Rehab" and
"You Know I'm No Good," was photographed walking outside her London
home wearing a bra and jeans, with no shoes, looking upset.
Winehouse attracted yet more attention in court Friday when she
blew Fielder-Civil kisses and shouted out, "I love you, handsome,
gorgeous one," as he was led away after facing charges of assault
and conspiracy.
Fielder-Civil, 25, is accused of attacking a pub landlord and
then later conspiring with him to withdraw as a witness at the
trial. Fielder-Civil pleaded innocent to the charge of assault, and
is expected to plead to a charge of perverting the course of
justice next month.
Winehouse is nominated for six Grammys including best new artist
and album of the year for "Back to Black," plus record and song of
the year for the brassy hit "Rehab." The awards will be presented
Feb. 10 in Los Angeles.
(Agencies via China Daily January 25, 2008)
