Apr 11 2009
Diva Billy Bob Thornton vs. Canada
Apparently Canadian politeness does have its limits. Just a few days ago, actor Billy Bob Thornton and his band the Boxmasters were touring the country with legend Willie Nelson. The band has since pulled out of the tour, after audiences reacted negatively following Thornton’s testy interview on a Canadian radio show.
Thornton refused to answer host Jian Ghomeshi’s questions because he had the nerve to mention his Oscar-winning acting and screenwriting career. (Hey Billy, at least he didn’t bring up your history as a creepy asshole.) BBT wouldn’t answer simple questions and ended the interview by refusing to play with his band, who performed an instrumental without him. It seems BBT doesn’t want to be seen as your typical actor-turned-musician, but as a spoiled diva.
The next day the band played Toronto and was received with a collective ”Boo! Hiss!” from the crowd. BBT forgot that a country sometimes listens to its radio shows and reads entertainment news. Soon after, a message appeared on Willie Nelson’s official website, announcing that the Boxmasters were pulling out of the Canadian tour.
See the astonishingly ass-y interview here.
He also said that Canadian audiences were like “mashed potatoes without the gravy”. I would have loved to have been in the audience at Massey Hall when the audience started hollering, “Here comes the gravy!” when he was giving them a hard time about booing him. What a goof.