After Amy Winehouse suddenly mysteriously died back on July 23rd, Amy’s family was adamant that she wasn’t drinking or doing drugs at the time and that she actually died of sobriety somehow, and we all just sort of nervously said nothing because … well, you try being the dick who has to remind Amy’s family that she made a song called Rehab. Anyway, turns out the sobriety theory was actually the total opposite of what actually killed Amy, because the coroner’s reports states in no uncertain terms that she actually drank herself to death. TMZ reports:

Amy Winehouse’s blood alcohol level was more than 4 times the legal limit at the time of her death … this according to the coroner who says the singer died as a direct result of over-consumption. Coroner Suzanne Greenaway described the situation as, “Death by misadventure” … noting that Winehouse voluntarily pounded an extraordinary amount of liquor in the hours before she died on July 23. Winehouse — who battled substance abuse issues for years — was 27-years-old at the time of her death.

Amy’s family released a statement … saying, “It is some relief to finally find out what happened to Amy. We understand there was alcohol in her system when she passed away, it is likely a build up of alcohol in her system over a number of days.” The statement continues, “The court heard that Amy was battling hard to conquer her problems with alcohol and it is a source of great pain to us that she could not win in time. She had started drinking again that week after a period of abstinence. It underlines how important our work with the Amy Winehouse Foundation is to us, to help as many young people and children as we can in her name. It means a lot to us and from the overwhelming messages of support we have had since Amy died, we know she meant a great deal to people all over the world. We want to thank everyone for that and for their continuing enthusiasm for the Foundation.”

All right, let’s not mince words here: Amy was by no means perfect. She had her addictions, and she wasn’t able to overcome them. But pretending that she didn’t have them and that she somehow died from withdrawal doesn’t really do much to help the cause of getting people to drink in moderation. Amy Winehouse was an alcoholic and she drank herself to death. As sad as that is, all we can really do is accept this fact for what it is and use it as a lesson about not going to extremes with our vices.

Because apparently, there are a few people in London who think that “standing up to an apathetic government in order to affect change to support neglected neighborhoods” and “BREAK THINGS AND STEAL SHIT WEEEEEEEE” are interchangeable concepts, it really shouldn’t come as a shock that fans have already started stealing shit from Amy Winehouse‘s house.

Amy’s father is reportedly furious — claiming someone entered the home and swiped unreleased music, lyric books and letters belonging to Winehouse, According to The Sun, only two lyric books have been reported to police … but Amy’s people are concerned about other items that seem to have gone missing too … including guitars and lyrics penned for her third album. SOURCE

Oh come on, don’t be shitty about this guys. I’m fully aware that not every Londoner is participating or approves of these a-holes running around wrecking shit up, so these comments are only directed at a particularly small minority of the population giving the rest of you guys a bad name: don’t pretend that  breaking into Amy’s house to rob it or stealing shit from stores or people in no way affiliated with the government means you’re honoring Amy’s memory or sticking it to the government. It just means you want shit for free and you’re being an asshole.

So as I write this, Amy Winehouse has just been laid to rest, and I’m not going to breathlessly cover the funeral because those are meant to be private moments meant for grieving between close friends and family, not as tabloid fodder. What I will discuss is how Amy’s label is currently planning on releasing the unfinished album Amy was working on before she died because that totally seems like the respectable thing to do.

Winehouse had spent the past two years working sporadically on a third album. Sources said that the songs were at demo stage but there was “a lot of material” available. Winehouse’s parents, Mitch and Janis, will have the final say on its release and it is expected to outsell Back To Black‘s five million copies. Industry experts described Winehouse as a true talent and said there would be huge demand for a posthumous album. SOURCE

All right, here’s the thing: these guys do realize that, while she was working on this album, she was also in the throws of the most harrowing chapter of her addictions that ultimately lead to her death, right? As in, chances are she’s going to sound like an emotional, drug-filled wreck? I love Amy, and no offense, but that’s not really how I or no doubt many other people want to remember her, and if that UNFINISHED album is released, chances are that’s how she will be.

The worst thing you can do for a person is pretend that they’re fine when they’re not. Pretending that there isn’t a problem when there is won’t magically fix anything anymore than pretending your house is not on fire while your kitchen is ablaze won’t save your curtains from bursting into flames.

Let me make one thing clear: everyone here at PopBytes, including myself, adored Amy Winehouse. We really did. I still remember buying Back to Black during the spring of 2007 and listening to the title track on repeat until it was the most played song on my iPod. Like many, Amy’s charm, talent and persona won me over.

But unfortunately, Amy did have a massive drinking and drug problem. We can’t deny that. To her friends and family who made the honest effort to help her: you did the best you could, and there’s no shame in that. Unfortunately, this was something that only Amy could choose to fight. Unfortunately, she didn’t.

I’m not going to absolve Amy of her responsibility just because I liked her, or because she had talent: she had every opportunity to heal herself, but she didn’t. I do feel sorry for  her, and I hope that wherever she is, she’s happy, but fact of the matter is, she could have fought and she didn’t. She was not helpless against her addictions. No one is. She just chose not to fight.

As I said, pretending someone is fine when they’re not is not going to help them. If you love someone and they suffer from an addiction, it’s your duty to encourage them to take the necessary steps to fight the addiction. Did we criticize Amy for her drunken antics? Of course. We cheered for her when she triumphed, and we chastised her when she gave in. That’s because we wanted her to triumph, rather than give in.

If you take away nothing else, just remember: you can’t fight someone’s addictions for them. All you can do is encourage them to behave responsibly and take care of themselves.