Billy Bob Thornton in Canada....
He and his band the Boxmeisters were touring Canada as a warmup for Willie Nelson. After this interview on our national broadcaster (going nationwide, ok?), the band cancelled their last 2 Canadian appearances because of the "flu".
Just for the record - the host, Gian, mentioned Bob's past accomplishments in the introduction ONLY, and then went on to the music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJWS6qyy7bw
I don't know much about the guy, but is he respected/liked in the USA?
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/616937
Billy Bob hightails it for border
Billy Bob blow-by-blow
Drops Canadian dates on Willie Nelson tour
Apr 11, 2009 04:30 AM
Iain Marlow
Andrew Chung
STAFF REPORTERS
Maybe the mashed potatoes don't want any gravy.
Billy Bob Thornton and his band the Boxmasters, after being booed by Toronto fans angered by his likening Canadian audiences to "mashed potatoes with no gravy" in a bizarre interview with the CBC, dropped the two remaining Canadian dates of Willie Nelson's tour – Montreal last night and London tonight.
Reached last night by the Star, Thornton's publicist said cancelling had nothing to do with Thornton's reception in Canada after the interview.
"It is absolutely not because of the CBC interview. One of the band members and several of the crew have the flu and need a couple of days off to recuperate," said Arnold Robinson. "Billy does not have the flu. The band is only concerned about giving the audience the best show possible, and when one of them is down with the flu, they can't do that.
"As Billy said before and during the show last night, he loves Canada," Robinson added.
Nelson's publicist Elaine Shock did not want to offer any comment from Nelson, saying the announcement on Nelson's official website about The Boxmasters' departure was a statement.
"This is a Billy Bob thing and not a Willie thing," Shock said.
About 1.2 million viewers had watched the YouTube video of the CBC interview by late last night and there were 10,500 comments, the vast majority criticizing Thornton.
When it was announced at the Nelson concert last night in Montreal that Thornton was no longer in the lineup, which also included Ray Price, there was loud applause, according to several concertgoers.
"We don't appreciate as Canadians to be treated like that," said Larry Paquette, of Magog, Que.
"He's just another actor, no big loss there," said Paul Schmieder, complete in open-collared shirt and cowboy hat.
Wendy McLoughlin called Thornton a "baby" for not showing up. She noted that Billy Bob would have seen in Montreal – widely considered Canada's biggest party city – that "we're the gravy!"
"It's cowardly," echoed Olivia Chia, visiting from Vancouver. "If things don't go his way, it's not his fault."
The CBC interview with arts and culture program Q this past week veered at times into the absurd, with Thornton refusing to answer questions and becoming increasingly belligerent.
Jian Ghomeshi, Q's host, made reference to Thornton's long, award-winning acting career in his introduction to the show, something he had apparently been told not to do by Thornton's cohorts.
Speaking at Toronto's Massey Hall Thursday, Thornton told the crowd that Ghomeshi, whose name Thornton said he couldn't remember, was an "a--hole."
"I sat down and talked with this guy," Thornton said from the stage. "He and his producers say, `We promise you we won't say that' (meaning references to Thornton's acting career). The very first thing they said was that... If you look someone in the eyes and promise them something, and you don't do it, you don't get the interview."
This joust at Ghomeshi, who was praised across the web for his calm approach to Thornton's on-air sulking, was greeted by the Massey Hall audience with jeering and shouts of "Here comes the gravy!"
