NATALIE COLE - COLE STANDS BY WINEHOUSE COMMENTS

COLE STANDS BY WINEHOUSE COMMENTS

Singer NATALIE COLE is standing by her previous criticisms of AMY WINEHOUSE - urging the troubled star not to make the same mistakes she did.
Cole sparked outrage last year (08) by announcing that the Back To Black hitmaker didn't "deserve" to take home a clutch of Grammy Awards when she was caught up in the throes of drug addiction.
Winehouse landed five gongs at the 2008 ceremony and performed via satellite link-up from London, where she was fresh out of a rehab clinic.
The star subsequently underwent several more stints in hospital in a bid to kick her addictions and is currently re-cooperating with an extended holiday in the Caribbean.
Cole - who endured a long-running battle with heroine addiction - is now suffering from the debilitating Hepatitis C virus. And she hopes Winehouse will look at her case and stop experimenting with drugs for good.
She tells Fox News, "I got into a bit of hot water for what I said about Amy Winehouse and I still say it again. I'm an ex-drug addict and I don't take that kind of stuff lightly.
"It stayed in my body for 25 years and it could still happen to this young woman or other addicts who are fooling around with drugs, especially needles. I would hope that what happened to me does not happen to her."