Amy Winehouse’s ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil has expressed his disdain for an upcoming project which would see a hologram of the singer touring the world.
Blake, whose relationship with Amy largely inspired her most famous album ‘Back To Black’, appeared on Tuesday’s ‘Good Morning Britain’ to share his thoughts on the hologram tour, admitting he felt “a bit concerned” about the idea.
“The idea that it’s anything remotely like Amy to me is completely misleading,” he told presenters Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid. “It’s old footage, it can’t be anything new.
“It can’t have the same interaction to Amy, it can’t be the same… I’m a bit concerned... there would be no human element to it.
“The actual hologram itself to me is no different to watching a video clip maybe or listening to her album. If anyone wants to see Amy on stage that opportunity has been and gone. If I wanted to see Elvis on stage, I’m not going to think I’ve seen him if I’ve seen a hologram.”
He continued: “I object to every opportunity that has been made... It seems since Amy passed away seven years ago there has been three films, one in the making and a hologram tour, I can’t see many other reasons for this tour [other than cashing in].”
The hologram tour plans were first revealed back in October, with proceeds going towards the Amy Winehouse Foundation, a charity set up in her name that aims to help young people with substance abuse issues.
When asked whether he felt he’d been guilty of “cashing in” on his relationship with the late singer in the past, he said: “The story I sold was more about me taking responsibility for the situation Amy was in at the time. I guess I was [cashing in].
“Of course I [regret it]. To call it cashing in is a bit misleading, I would have done it without any money, in fact the first story I did I didn’t take a payment. The reason I ended up taking money, was because I had been in a situation through the media for my own doing where I found it really hard to get a job for a long time, I couldn’t really earn money in any other way it felt like.”
Piers then asked his guest about whether his relationship with Amy was “driven by drugs”, which he was quick to insist was not the case.
“This is something that needs to be addressed,” he explained. “In the six or something years Amy and I were on/off together, tempestuous, if you want to call it that. We had one break for a while, one argument that was in the press. The drug thing is something that has been attributed to me for years.
“The fact, me and Amy only used drugs together for six months of our marriage. That was it. Before that Amy didn’t use drugs, she smoked cannabis, I did heroin maybe four or five times…”
Noting he’d “always take responsibility’, Blake added: “But I’m not willing to be the only person any more. I feel like I’m the only person who’s taken responsibility and have done since Amy was alive. I feel that maybe since the last film about Amy came out two years ago, the documentary, there has been a certain sort of shift in blame to other parties.
“Amy didn’t do anything Amy didn’t want to do. I will always carry a burden of guilt. I feel how I should have acted.”
News of a touring Amy Winehouse hologram was met with a largely negative reaction from her fans when the idea was first reported, though others pointed out that it is a charity project, and that it would help give fans the Amy Winehouse live experience that they might have missed out on prior to her death in 2011.
Amy Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning in July 2011, at the age of 27. Since her death, one posthumous album has been released, compiled of reworked demos and rare tracks, while a documentary about her life and career won an Oscar in 2016.
‘Good Morning Britain’ airs every weekday from 6am on ITV.