Most Americans, if they know who Pete Doherty is at all, know him as that guy from The Libertines whose drug-fueled escapades with former girlfriend Kate Moss got more press than the band’s critically hailed 2002 debut, Up The Bracket. Today’s news won’t really change that, as Doherty has been sentenced to 6 months prison for cocaine possession. The charge followed a police investigation into the January 2010 overdose of his friend, documentarian Robyn Whitehead. “Robyn was using drugs when she was 12 years old. she was a heavily involved recreational user and abuser of substances,” said Doherty on his blog, denying any responsibility for her death. “I did not lead her astray at all. I loved her. I left her the day before she died pissed off that I wouldn’t give her any drugs…Robyn’s father texted me that I am a ‘coward and a runt’ and that I am to blame. She would be broken hearted if she knew that I was not even invited to the funeral…she was my best friend, you deranged old silly…the media has been despicable and you are falling into their hands.”
Doherty, previously jailed for brief periods in 2003 and 2008 after multiple brushes with the law, was scheduled to perform in Glasgow, Scotland tonight, and recently shot his first movie, Confessions d’un Enfant du Siecle, with Charlotte Gainsbourg. The Libertines reunited to play a series of gigs in 2009 and 2010, after splitting in 2004.
