Natalie Cole is upset that Amy Winehouse won five Grammy awards Sunday night. At a post-ceremony press conference, Cole told reporters, “I think it sends the wrong message, that even in the midst of her stupor of drugs she can get nominated for all these awards.”
Amy, 24, left a UK rehab facility to perform for the Grammy broadcast via satellite from London. She was unable to attend the L.A. ceremony in person after being initially denied a visa to enter the U.S. (the U.S. government went on to reverse its denial, but not in time for Amy to make it to the show).
Natalie, 58, who has had her own battles with substance abuse in the past, said she thinks Amy “has a great talent,” but also went on to say: “I don’t agree with the Grammys giving her those nods…. It’s a slap in the face to musicians and artists who work very hard that they turn around and give it to someone who really obviously doesn’t have a grasp of what she has.”
