According to the coroner’s report, Amy Winehouse died in 2011 from alcohol poisoning. The famous singer’s brother, Alex Winehouse, doesn’t deny that his sister had substance abuse problems but said that her death was related more to bulimia than alcohol.
In an interview with The Observer Magazine , Winehouse said: “She would have died eventually, the way she was going, but what really killed her was the bulimia. Had she not have had an eating disorder, she would have been physically stronger.”
Alex said that his sister’s eating disorder started when she was about 17.
Alex said : “[Her friends] were all doing it. They stopped doing it, but Amy never really stopped. We all knew she was doing it but it’s almost impossible [to tackle], especially if you’re not talking about it.”
Winehouse’s family wasn’t able to get Amy help for her bulimia, but they are trying to make sure that other people don’t suffer a similar fate. The Amy Winehouse Foundation has given money to the bulimia charity Beat in honor of the last singer.
Alex said: “We had to support eating disorder charities because no-one talks about it. The situation in this country is that about five or six years ago there were around 10 to 15 eating disorder charities out there. Now there’s only three, one of which is exclusively for young men. Beat was in real need of an online forum so that there’s always someone there to talk to. I just want to try to raise awareness of bulimia. It’s a real dark, dark issue.”
Alex Winehouse talked to The Observer to promote a new series of photographs of his sister that will be going on display at the Jewish Museum in London the Summer. The exhibit gives a glimpse into Winehouse’s life before she was a superstar.
And in case you were wondering what it was like to have Amy Winehouse as a sister…
Alex said: “Do you have a sister? Then you know. She was annoying, frustrating, a pain in the bum … But she was also incredibly generous, very caring. She’d do anything for anyone, she really would. She was loyal – as a sister, daughter and friend. She was probably the most loyal friend to people I’ve ever known. She was a really good person. And horrible in other respects.”