Amy Winehouse's Dad Defends Controversial Biopic Casting

Last week, a first look of actress Marisa Abela as the legendary singer caused an uproar amongst upset fans, who believed the Industry star looked nothing like Amy by calling her things like "Amy Winehouse from SHEIN." But while the vast majority of commenters "said NO, NO, NO" to the casting, there's one person who wholeheartedly approves of Marisa's portrayal, specifically Amy's father, Mitch Winehouse.

LOL, y’all are going to hell. pic.twitter.com/KsBRDMhvjD

— Saeed Jones (@theferocity) January 17, 2023

don’t get Amy Winehouse from SHEIN!!!!!

— ethel cain’s personal assistant (@taurusscorpiooo) January 13, 2023

And I said NO, NO, NO

— SOLOMON GRUNDY WANT UTILITY BELT TOO!! (@LexyconDevil) January 16, 2023

According to a new report from TMZ, Mitch defended Marisa against the critics by basically saying that she's "a great choice for the role, even if she doesn’t look exactly like Amy," before adding that "it's no big deal if they aren't mirror images."

"The way Mitch sees it, Marisa is Marisa and Amy is Amy," as the outlet said, with Mitch also arguing that "there's too much emphasis on looks," prior to noting that actor Eddie Marsan — who plays him in the film — "doesn't look anything like him either."

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A post shared by Mitch Winehouse (@mitchwinehouse)

That said, Mitch himself isn't exactly beloved by fans, as many have accused him of enabling his daughter's addiction and exploiting her legacy as the administrator of her estate, which was explored in the critically acclaimed 2015 documentary, Amy. As such, a number of people believe he is partially responsible for her untimely death from accidental alcohol poisoning in 2011, meaning his approval of director Sam Taylor-Johnson's fictionalized retelling of Amy's life has already been a source of skepticism and flat-out derision from those who claim he's merely trying to use the biopic as a way "to clear his name even though the documentary exposed him for filth."

mitch winehouse deserves actual hell for what he put his daughter through and i will forever die on that so this biopic of amy’s just seems like an opportunity for him to clear his name even though the documentary exposed him for filth… oh when i catch him i swear

— (nicole) (@stonelovebot) January 18, 2023

You can read TMZ's original report about his comments here.

Photo via Getty / JMEnternational