After Cocaine Video Surfaces, Winehouse Goes to Rehab

LONDON, Jan. 24, 2008 — -- Amy Winehouse has finally said "yes" to rehab.

"Amy decided to enter the facility today after talks with her record label, management, family and doctors," Winehouse's record company, Universal Music Group, said today in a statement to reporters. "She has come to understand that she requires specialist treatment to continue her ongoing recovery from drug addiction."

Tuesday, a photo of the British singer apparently smoking a crack pipe was splashed across the front page of the U.K. tabloid The Sun.

The photo, taken from a 19-minute video whose source The Sun has not revealed, was accompanied by reports that the Grammy-nominated singer had allegedly engaged in a drug binge of cocaine, ecstasy, Valium and crack.

Winehouse, 24, is perhaps best known for her 2006 hit "Rehab," in which she wrote about her refusal to visit a rehab facility.

Hours after the video was released, however, the singer turned up at the privately run Capio Nightingale Hospital, accompanied by her father, Mitch, and a bodyguard, according to The Times of London. The mental health clinic in central London is famous for treating celebrities with addiction problems.

Supermodel Kate Moss was among those who retreated to the clinic when photos of her apparently snorting cocaine were published by The Daily Mirror, a British tabloid, in September 2005. Moss has since resurrected her modeling career to great fanfare, earning an estimated $28 million that same year.

So, will Winehouse survive her apparent drug addiction, not to mention the unflattering glare of the U.K. tabloid press?

Is Winehouse's Life on the Line?

In an interview with ABC News, Bryony Gordon, a columnist with The Daily Telegraph, said that the video footage meant that Winehouse wouldn't "be able to attend the Grammy Awards ceremony this year, because the U.S. authorities are unlikely to give her a visa."

But, according to others, the possible refusal of an American visa is the least of Winehouse's problems.

Andrew Wainwright, director of the U.S.-based Addiction Intervention Resources, told ABC News that drug addiction was "unlike any other disease."

"If the doctor says you have cancer, you believe him and begin the curing process immediately," Wainwright said.

"But with drugs," he added, "people don't buy into it the same way they do with other illnesses."

If news of the addiction makes it into the public domain, however, that can lead to addicts acknowledging their problems, according to Wainwright.

Certainly this is the line espoused by The Sun. Managing editor Graham Dudman told ABC News that the newspaper was not on "a social crusade to save Amy Winehouse."

"But," he added, "that is certainly one of the reasons why we published these pictures — she clearly needs help."

Although Gordon scoffed at that claim, saying, "I think The Sun's line is to help their sales," few people deny that Winehouse needs help.

Concerns about her health began to emerge last year, when she canceled her U.K. tour after giving a series of erratic performances. In October, her father told a British tabloid that he was so worried about her health that he had already composed a eulogy for her.

Wainwright acknowledged that while "it's incumbent on people in her inner circle to say, 'I won't help you live this way,'" recovery ultimately boils down to the addict's determination.

"It's important to never ever give up hope," he said.

"There's something we call the rule of 101 — if you have tried 100 times to help the person, it's probably worth trying 101."

Rehab Remedy #101: A Jail Spell?

The latest footage has led some commentators in the United Kingdom to wonder whether a stretch in jail might not be the best option for Winehouse.

If "her family feels that a prison stint is the best way of intervening, then so be it," Wainwright said.

Winehouse's husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, is currently facing criminal charges for allegedly assaulting and attempting to bribe a pub landlord in East London. Her father has repeatedly accused Fielder-Civil of encouraging his daughter's drug addiction.

As for Winehouse, Friday, she showed up at her husband's hearing in London and blew several kisses at him before shouting, "I love you, handsome, gorgeous one."

Winehouse's spokesperson refused to comment on the video footage, but public interest in her apparent descent into addiction has never been higher.

"The truth is we all love a train wreck," Wainwright said. "Maybe part of it is that addiction is the great equalizer — it's a nondiscriminatory disease," he said, adding that "it transcends gender, race and wealth."

But, according to Gordon, what keeps people interested in Winehouse is "a talent that transcends everything."

"People want to see her get better, there is genuine concern for her," Gordon said, adding that the public usually "forgives people with huge talent."

Fabiola Antezana contributed to the reporting of this story.