Amy Winehouse's father defends biopic after first images of Sam Taylor-Johnson film are met with backlash

Mitch Winehouse, who is the father of late singer Amy Winehouse, has responded to criticism of the upcoming biopic on his daughter’s life. The biopic entitled Back to Black received major backlash after pictures of the set and cast in character surfaces.

Many fans took issue when it was announced that Marisa Abela will play Amy Winehouse, with many commenting that they don’t think the actress looks like the late singer. One person said: “They literally could have picked any other person on the planet, put a beehive on them, and they would look more like Amy Winehouse than the gal cast in that film does.”

Mitch was quick to publicly support the casting, and told US website TMZ: “Marisa’s a great choice for the role, even if she doesn’t look exactly like Amy.”

According to TMZ, Mitch defended the film Back to Black by suggesting there is too much emphasis on looks in Hollywood films, since there are plenty of examples of actors who are not identical to the real-life person they are portraying.

However, the Sam Taylor-Johnson directed biopic has also been criticised by fans who have compared the film to Blonde, the fictionalised film about Marilyn Monroe’s life. The film received criticism for its graphic inclusion of Monroe’s abortion, as well as capitalising on her struggles with some calling the film ‘trauma porn’.

Podcast host Emma Vigeland took to Twitter to share her disappointment alongside one of the images from the set which looks to be filming a distressing scene between Amy Winehouse and Police Officers.

Vigeland tweeted: “This Amy Winehouse biopic looks absolutely vile… an extension of the relentless and bloodthirsty media coverage of her and her addiction. Not a shock that it appears her father will make some money off of this.More trauma porn about female icons. Lovely.”

The film has received approval from the Amy Winehouse estate, who have also granted permission to use music by the singer.

A statement from the estate read: “We are thrilled that Studiocanal, Focus Features and Monumental are making this movie celebrating our daughter Amy’s extraordinary music legacy and showcasing her talent in the way that it deserves.”