Pulp's Jarvis Cocker: The Press Helped Kill Amy Winehouse

Pulp's Jarvis Cocker has blamed the UK's media and tabloids for contributing to the death of singer Amy Winehouse.

In an interview with The Guardian, Cocker said that the constant media attention the late singer was bombarded with every day forced her to turn to drink and drugs.

''Amy Winehouse passed away this year and it was all 'drugs killed Amy Winehouse'. I think that the press killed Amy Winehouse as much as drugs did, because it sends people into that place where they've got no peace, and so they just try to escape. And sometimes you use drugs and drink to do that, Jarvis Cocker said.

He added: "That atmosphere of fear that tabloids cause – and I experienced that a bit, back in the bad old days – it makes you not want to go out, and it makes you act more weirdly because it makes you more self-conscious, and it makes you want to get more off your head because you block it out."

Last month a coroner report ruled that Amy Winehouse had died from excessive alcohol consumption. However, toxicology tests had showed "no illegal substances" were present in her body at the time of death. The court also heard that Winehouse had not had a drink in the three weeks to 22 July.

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