Kelly Osbourne: 'Give Amy Winehouse a little bit of respect and a break'

TV presenter turned stage actress Kelly Osbourne has jumped to the defense of her troubled pal Amy Winehouse - asking people to give her "a little bit of respect and a break".

Osbourne - the daughter of Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne - who, like Amy, has battled her own problems with drink and drugs in the past, wants the troubled 'Rehab' singer, 24, be allowed to deal with her problems on her own.

"Amy is a very close friend of mine," Kelly said. "I will always be there for her but you can't protect people from themselves. Amy is not stupid, she is very smart, but this is something she has to do by herself."

The 23-year-old star also hits out at fame-hungry celebrities.

"I think for a lot of famous people press attention is an addiction, she added to Britain's You magazine. "Those girls - Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and so on - are competing for the attention.

"It's like, who is going to get arrested next, get pregnant, go out without knickers and get on this week's magazine covers?

"How has this turned into the fashionable thing to do? I would be absolutely mortified if I got arrested."