Back to black film-maker Sam Taylor-Johnson is opening up about tabloid scrutiny, the late singer Amy Winehouse faced before his untimely death. The director spoke with The Hollywood Reporter recently and explained how Kate Middleton is facing the same type of attack amid its health crisis.
According to Taylor-Johnson, the frenzy that surrounded Winehouse before – and after – her death was similar to the storm of speculation and attention that the Princess of Wales had to deal with before – and after – her death. revealing your cancer diagnosis. And it’s not just the media’s fault, which feeds the hungry beast that is the public.
“People just want more, more, more,” shares Taylor-Johnson. “There is a voracious appetite for needing every scrap of information about someone who is so public.”
According to the director, she felt a kind of connection with Middleton’s situation. When she was 30, she was diagnosed with colon cancer, around the time she welcomed her first child with her previous husband, and then breast cancer three years later.
“All you really want to do is shelter yourself and your family,” Taylor-Johnson remembers of that time in her life. That’s why, when she saw Middleton having to publicly address her private health battle to counter the frenzy of conspiracy theories and speculation, she “felt a pang of anxiety around what she must be going through.”
Now, at 57, Taylor-Johnson is still in the tabloid spotlight due to her marriage to her younger husband, the actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson33.
“There are times when it’s uncomfortable,” she says. “Most of the time, we stay away and stay pretty private. We tend to retreat. Kids and school runs keep you grounded.”
The pair met in 2009 on the set of her work as a director. Nowhere, boy. They struck up a romance and began dating before getting married in June 2012. The duo shares two daughters, while the filmmaker is also the mother of two other daughters from her previous marriage.
With your new film, Back to blackTaylor-Johnson seeks to share some of the shine and glory of Winehouse’s life, which was overshadowed by her tragic death in 2011 at age 27.
“Everything (Winehouse) accomplished was eclipsed by the tragedy of how his life ended,” shares Taylor-Johnson. “I wanted to take her to a place where she had her agency back.”
Back to black – starring Marisa Abela on the iconic singer – hits theaters on May 17th.
With regard to Middleton’s surprising health revelationET spoke with royal expert Katie Nicholl in March to get some insight into the overwhelming tabloid coverage.
Nicholl acknowledged the public’s voracious search for information about Middleton’s absence and told ET that she believed “lessons have been learned” when it comes to how the palace shares details.
“My understanding is that the king was really supportive of her making that video message, even if it was a breach of protocol, just a deviation from the norm, because he recognizes how important that connection with the public is.” Nicholl said of King Charles, who also revealed his own cancer diagnosis earlier this year. “He also received support from the public, and that (helped him) through a very difficult period.”
“I understand and can reveal exclusively to ET that she spoke to her father-in-law before the message,” Nicholl said, and of course, to her husband, because she knew what she was doing was actually a little different from the norm and they both gave all their support and recognized that this was the best way to do it.”
Watch the video below to learn more about the controversial coverage of the Princess of Wales.
RELATED CONTENT: