Bailey Singletary is a junior majoring in communication. She can be contacted at [email protected].Everyone knows that women have a bad habit of gossiping, especially when speaking of Hollywood award shows. The catty comments range from what people are wearing to who does and doesn’t deserve to win. Sometimes people get offended when they aren’t chosen for an award (yeah I’m talking about you Faith Hill), or their favored artists don’t get chosen. But when Natalie Cole told People magazine that Amy Winehouse should not have won her awards at this year’s Grammys because of her drug-abuse reputation, I feel it just made Cole look a bit, well, bitchy.
While at a Grammy after-party, Cole said: “I don’t think she should have won. I think it sends a bad message to our young people who are trying to get into this business, the ones who are trying to do it right and really trying to keep themselves together. We have to stop rewarding bad behavior.” Well sorry Natalie Cole, but I think that’s the pot calling the kettle black because you also had a drug abuse problem at one time and it didn’t stop you from receiving awards. In 1975, Cole was arrested in Canada for heroin possession and, oddly enough, she accepted the 1975 Grammys for Best New Artist of the Year and Best R&B Female Vocal Performance before entering rehab in 1983.
I in no way condone the actions of Amy Winehouse and her friendship with the “white lady,” but the awards she received were not given to her for her good behavior and ability to be a role model for up and coming singers. They were given to her because she outshined the other nominees in those categories. And let’s be honest with ourselves. Drugs and music go hand in hand and this isn’t new to any of us.
In fact, if we all followed the beliefs of Natalie Cole, Miles Davis and Ray Charles would never have received their Grammys and if bad behavior is not supposed to be rewarded, her own father, Nat King Cole, wouldn’t have been given awards because he behaved badly by having many love affairs while married to her mother.
I feel that I might be slightly biased because I am indeed a fan of Amy Winehouse and her music, so to inject some objectivity I asked Shelby Jones, an MSU grad student, how she felt about Cole’s comments about Winehouse.
“I personally am not a fan of Amy Winehouse, but I think it’s a testament to her talent that despite all of her bad choices, she still won five Grammys,” Jones said.
As a recovering drug addict, Cole’s words are surprising because she should have encouraged Winehouse for being in rehab at the time she was given the awards. Cole should also know that putting down Winehouse won’t increase her chances of sobriety. In fact, it could possibly make things worse by making her feel unworthy of the awards she has received. Her attempts at getting people to quit supporting Winehouse are intended to be good, but what happens if everyone stops acknowledging her for her god-given talent despite her drug abuse? Has anything been solved?
No, I don’t think it has. People quit praising Britney Spears and the only things that got her was a shaved head, the loss of her children and the fake British accent she uses from time to time, which is just a fast track to “Mental-Institutionville.”
However, I have a good feeling that Cole’s words will not negatively affect Winehouse because, after all, she did win five Grammys in one year when it took Cole 21 years to receive eight. Oh, how the smell of jealously is so pungent.