Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters on Q TV

If I ever had any respect for Billy Bob Thornton as a person, I more or less just lost all of it after watching this interview with QTV’s Jian Ghomeshi. After a perfectly appropriate introduction, which briefly mentioned his career as an actor, Thornton refused to answer any questions directly and basically made a complete ass of himself for the rest of the interview.

During the interview on Q, he was belligerent, swore and said performing for Canadian audiences was like “mashed potatoes with no gravy” because they are more reserved and less raucous than American audiences.

Before his performance Thursday [at Massey Hall], Thornton told reporters that he loved Canada and his mash potatoes comment was directed at the radio host, not Canadian audiences.

During Wednesday’s radio show, Thornton refused to answer many questions directly.

When asked about his inspirations for music, Thornton discussed a magazine he subscribed to and a model-building contest he once entered.

Then, Ghomeshi asked about Thornton’s passion for music.

“Would you say that to Tom Petty?” Thornton shot back.

When the radio host suggested that mentioning Thornton’s movie career was relevant to provide context for listeners, Thornton responded testily: “There’s plenty of context without all that.” [CBC.ca]

In a completely unrelated coincidence, Billy and the Boxmasters have cancelled the remainder of their Canadian tour with Willie Nelson because one of the musicians in the band has the “flu”.

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