CBC meltdown gave 'humpbacked geeks' something to do: Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton can't understand why his recent meltdown on CBC Radio caused such a furor, but at least it gave "humpbacked geeks" something to do, he said Tuesday on the late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live.
"The fact that that was news was astounding to me."
The eccentric actor-musician was referring to his sullen, hostile appearance earlier this month on the CBC Radio show Q, during which he sat in surly silence or mumbled "I don't know what you're talking about" in response to questions from host Jian Ghomeshi.
CBC producers had reportedly agreed Thornton would not be asked about his acting because he was promoting Modbilly, the latest album from his band the Boxmasters, but Ghomeshi broke the deal by introducing him as an Oscar-winning actor.
In the same interview — which has been viewed by millions online — Thornton also complained that Canadian audiences were reserved and unresponsive, calling them "mashed potatoes with no gravy." The Boxmasters have since cancelled their Canadian tour dates.
Thornton was chatty and amiable during his Jimmy Kimmel appearance — despite the fact that Kimmel introduced the star of films such as Sling Blade and Bad Santa as "an Oscar winner and a musician you know from many films."
The CBC incident was not the star's first run-in with an interviewer, Thornton told Kimmel: about 10 years ago a German host angered him by "saying something she wasn't supposed to say" and he retaliated by giving strange responses to her questions. "I told her I received signals from Venus through a metal plate in my head."
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
Billy Bob Thornton can't understand why his recent meltdown on CBC Radio caused such a furor, but at least it gave "humpbacked geeks" something to do, he said Tuesday on the late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live.
"The fact that that was news was astounding to me."
The eccentric actor-musician was referring to his sullen, hostile appearance earlier this month on the CBC Radio show Q, during which he sat in surly silence or mumbled "I don't know what you're talking about" in response to questions from host Jian Ghomeshi.
CBC producers had reportedly agreed Thornton would not be asked about his acting because he was promoting Modbilly, the latest album from his band the Boxmasters, but Ghomeshi broke the deal by introducing him as an Oscar-winning actor.
In the same interview — which has been viewed by millions online — Thornton also complained that Canadian audiences were reserved and unresponsive, calling them "mashed potatoes with no gravy." The Boxmasters have since cancelled their Canadian tour dates.
Thornton was chatty and amiable during his Jimmy Kimmel appearance — despite the fact that Kimmel introduced the star of films such as Sling Blade and Bad Santa as "an Oscar winner and a musician you know from many films."
The CBC incident was not the star's first run-in with an interviewer, Thornton told Kimmel: about 10 years ago a German host angered him by "saying something she wasn't supposed to say" and he retaliated by giving strange responses to her questions. "I told her I received signals from Venus through a metal plate in my head."
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
