Amy Winehouse’s father, Mitch Winehouse, has been ordered in court to pay almost £1 million ($1.3 million). The order came down after Mitch lost a drawn-out court case in London. There, he claimed two of Winehouse’s friends profited from the sale of her belongings.
Mitch must pay £569,330 ($766,830) to Naomi Parry, Winehouse’s former stylist. Additionally, he was ordered to pay £394,521 ($531,380) to his daughter’s close friend Catriona Gourlay. Deputy High Court Judge Sarah Clarke KC declared that Mitch has two weeks to make these payments. He must also pay Parry and Gourlay’s legal fees.
The claims were first filed around December 2025. As the representative of Amy Winehouse’s estate, Mitch accused Parry and Gourlay of profiting from the sale of Winehouse’s personal belongings at auctions in 2021 and 2023. Furthermore, he claimed they intentionally concealed those sales from the estate’s notice. Mitch initially sought more than £700,000 ($94,200) from the two.
Judge Dismissed Case Against Amy Winehouse’s Friends After Proving Her Father Made False Accusations
Judge Clarke, however, threw the case out in April 2026. Parry and Gourlay maintained their own claims that the possessions were either given to them by Amy Winehouse or already belonged to them. As such, they had every right to sell the items if they wished.
Additionally, Judge Clarke stated that, with “reasonable diligence”, Mitch Winehouse could have learned which items the two women had in their possession. Evidence suggested that Mitch also knew about the intended auctions long beforehand, contradicting his claims.
Judge Clarke handed down the order on July 29, 2026, and seemingly had no sympathy for Mitch Winehouse’s accusations. She stated that his claims were “inherently weak,” “serious,” and “unfounded.” The accusations turned the case into “large-scale and expensive litigation,” said Clarke, which added to the financial pressure on the defendants.
Notably, Parry and Gourlay were devoted friends to Amy Winehouse throughout her turbulent career. After her death, they continued to stand by Mitch and Janis Winehouse. According to a report in The Guardian, Clarke took this into consideration when dismissing Mitch’s case. The judge stated that he “knowingly and deliberately” made false accusations.
July 23, 2026, marked 15 years since Amy Winehouse’s death. Her mother reflected on the tragic scale of her daughter’s fame, and how she has dealt with her grief.
“She was a victim of her own success,” said Janis Winehouse. “She didn’t want it, but it just followed her. And she’d be like, ‘Who, me?’” When asked about handling the loss 15 years on, she added, “I’m just getting on with it because that’s what I do. I get on with life. I live it.”
Photo by JMEnternational/Getty Images
The post Late 2000s Icon’s Father Ordered to Pay Huge Sum After Accusing Friends of Profiting off Her Belongings appeared first on VICE.
