Billy Bob Backlash!

Well Billy Bob Thornton, you’ve succeeded in making a fine fine ass out of yourself!
Following a bizarrely disastrous interview on a Canadian radio show, the audience at Massey Hall on Thursday night did not shy from expressing their distaste for Billy Bob, booing at the actor musician music historian.
Stopping three songs into his set, Billy Bob tried to explain himself, calling radio interviewer Jian Ghomeshi an “asshole,” saying,

“Boo all you want, but I want to say something…. We’re really happy to be here, but I need to say something. I talked to this a–hole yesterday.
“I sat down and talked with this guy. He and his producers say, ‘We promise you we won’t say that’ [Thornton’s acting career]. The very first thing they said was that.
“I don’t really like sensationalism…If you look someone in the eyes and promise them something, and you don’t do it, you don’t get the interview. That’s the way it goes.”

But the explanation only goaded the audience into calling “Here comes the gravy!” referring to Billy Bob’s claim that Canadian audiences “just sit there.”
Ghomeshi has defended himself, saying:

“Our policy is that we don’t allow anybody to tell us what we can and cannot say… Beyond that, it was this notion and the language that he used during the interview that I thought was unfortunate, that we were ‘instructed’ to say this and that. And I think that does raise interesting questions about ideas around how much journalism is to be controlled, especially when it comes to arts and entertainment and culture, and I think that that’s a concern.
“The reality is, and I tried to explain this in the interview, these guys have only been together for two years. You just don’t get the kind of national press they are getting without the incentive being something like his career past…. And I think if he could graciously accept that and say, ‘Hey, I want to focus on the music, but I get that the reason we’re here is because I’m a movie star that’s won an Oscar.’ There’s not a lot of people who can say that.”

Ghomeshi also said he has received a lot of support from journalists commending his dedication to his craft and his composure throughout the strange interview, saying, “Maybe it was a little Canadian to be polite, but I can live with that.”
That’s more than Billy Bob can say!
[Image via WENN.]