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Amy Winehouse's career under threat as drug arrest leads to U.S. ban

Society Materials 30 October 2007 10:23 (UTC +04:00)
Amy Winehouse's career under threat as drug arrest leads to U.S. ban

(dailymail.co.uk) - Amy Winehouse's career as an international star hung in the balance last night amid claims she is to be banned from the U.S.

American authorities will not grant her a visa to enter the country to complete a promotional tour following a recent drugs bust in Norway, her father claimed yesterday.

But Mitch Winehouse went on to blame Norwegian authorities for misleading his 24-year-old daughter into signing a confession document in relation to the incident on her European tour last week.

Mitch, a taxi driver, said Amy thought the document, which was written in Norwegian, had actually been a release form.

Mr Winehouse said the situation was now being thrashed out between the British Consulate and Norwegian authorities in the hope that Amy would avoid a US ban.

Mr Winehouse, who insists the drugs did not belong to his daughter, said: "It didn't belong to her, it belonged to someone else on the tour. They arrested Blake, Amy and the person who was responsible.

"They only released them after they signed a form, which they were told was a release form. It was in Norwegian. It was actually a confession, so this is being dealt with now by the Norwegian authorities and the British Consulate because the ramifications of that are that she now can't get into the States and she was meant to go next week."

Being denied a visa could stall Winehouse's assault on the US where she has already climbed the top ten singles chart and earned rave reviews.

Fellow Brit singer Lily Allen has also recently fallen foul of US immigration.

Her visa was cancelled in August after LA immigration officials questioned her over an assault on a photographer in March.

She was forced to cancel a planned September concert in Las Vegas.

Winehouse was arrested in Norway earlier this month for possession of marijuana while on her European tour.

She and husband Blake Fielder-Civil, along with friend Alexander Foden, spent the night in a police cell and were released after paying a fine.

Mr Winehouse, a cab driver, also claimed - in the interview on This Morning - that his daughter did not touch hard drugs until she married Blake Fielder-Civil, who works as a film production runner.

He said: "She was a complete opponent of hard drugs - in fact, she got up and said she couldn't understand why people in the music industry took hard drugs and that changed about six months ago when she got married to Blake.

"And I'm not saying it's Blake's fault, what I'm saying is Amy's responsible for her own actions.

"However, it's a fact that the hard drugs coincided with their marriage."

Winehouse was rushed to hospital in August this year after overdosing on heroin, ketamine, cocaine and ecstasy.

Her father confirmed that she was treated for a seizure triggered as a result of taking drugs.

Weeks later husband and wife were pictured in the street looking bloodied and bruised after an argument.

Mr Winehouse said his daughter, who has admitted blacking out during drinking binges, has cut her alcohol consumption in the past year but is still battling bulimia and drug addiction.

"She's not drinking as heavily as she was then actually, but there are other problems.

"The other problem is the bulimia which is still apparent, although she's put on about a stone in weight, but it's still affecting her health. And there are problems with substance abuse as well. But it's not as bad as has been reported."

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