Filming for the Amy Winehouse biopic, Back to Black, has wrapped – and already, it’s been hit with a ton of backlash.
Named after Amy’s hit 2006 album, the film, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and is set to be released next year. However, the biopic has touched a nerve with many fans as they claim that it’s “exploiting” the late singer.
Here’s everything we know about the Amy Winehouse biopic as BBC Two runs a series of special shows about the singer tonight (September 9)…
Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black hit by backlash
The much-anticipated flick will follow Amy’s life and delve into her love life and tragic death aged just 27 in 2011. Across her short career, the icon released two mega-successful albums and bagged a couple of Grammys too.
Actress Marisa Abela will be taking on the role of Amy, while Skins alum Jack O’Connell will be playing Amy’s husband, Blake Fielder-Civil.
Filming for the biopic started back in January, and is reported to have finished in April. However, the film was swarmed with complaints when filming began, as fans declared that the biopic is “exploiting” the singer.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan wrote: “No one wants an Amy Winehouse biopic. Must we always exploit an artist and their life’s work? Especially like Amy who had a tumultuous time in the public eye.”
What else did fans say about Amy Winehouse biopic?
Another said: “We do not need an Amy Winehouse biopic. She’s barely been gone a decade and people are already trying to exploit her (as if they didn’t do it enough when she was still with us). This isn’t right.”
Someone else wrote: “We need to let the biopic trend die because most of them turn out to be a huge mess made without support of the person’s loved ones and just exploit a person’s trauma for money.”
‘They’re not going to do Amy justice at all’
In January, photos from the set made their rounds on the internet – people had a lot to say about the pictures.
There were shots of Marisa as Amy, wearing a Blake badge in her famous beehive hair. As well as the actress getting swarmed by actors playing paparazzi. The cast and crew were even spotted filming at Amy’s real Camden home.
On X, fans kicked off at the sneak peek of the much-anticipated film. One social media user fumed: “Complete mistake with the actress.” Alongside pictures of the film, a second fan quipped: “This is going to be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”
A third added: “She looks like an American housewife from the 1960s, it’s not giving.” Another fan said: “I was so excited when i found out about Back to Black film and I feel like they’re not going to do Amy justice at all.”
Amy’s former best friend declares biopic has ‘filled him with dread’
Amy’s former best friend, Alex Foden, also spoke out about his thoughts on the new biopic.
The hairdresser declared that it has “filled me with dread” as the main actress doesn’t look like Amy. He told The Sun: “Everything I’ve seen from the film set so far has filled me with dread. They haven’t even got the beehive right – and I should know as I was her hairdresser – and the main actress doesn’t look anything like Amy. Amy was exploited throughout her life and now she is being exploited in death as well.”
However, Amy’s dad, Mitch Winehouse, disagrees with the backlash as he claimed Marisa is a “great” choice. Speaking with TMZ, he said: “Marisa is Marisa and Amy is Amy… So it’s no big deal if they aren’t mirror images. Marisa is a great choice for the role.”
BBC Two is running a series of Amy Winehouse shows tonight (September 9) from 9pm.
Read more: Amy Winehouse at Porchester Hall: Six artists who have covered her songs
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