You're no Tom Petty, Billy-Bob

So I finally got around to watching the controversial interview where actor Billy Bob Thornton, on tour with an unknown band a couple of weeks back, threw a fit when CBC Radio’s Jian Ghomeshi mentioned he was an actor, going against Billy-Bob’s instructions to a producer to keep this information quiet.
Poor Billy Bob. If he was pretending he’d made his fame and fortune as a musician and not an actor, he wasn’t fooling anyone.
First, in the extremely unlikely chance Billy Bob Thornton is reading this, I want you to know how much I admire your work in the film industry.
Slingblade, which you wrote, directed and starred in, is one of the greatest films ever to grace a silver screen. And you were top-notch as Davy Crockett in the Alamo.
You’ve got skills, Billy Bob.
But having skills doesn’t seem to prevent you from coming across as a big-feelin’ jerk.
Now, I know it’s not all your fault. A lot of it probably had to do with people telling you how fantastic you are for so long, you actually started believing it.
But judging by the way being a jerk comes to you so naturally, I think you’ve gotta take credit for a pretty big chunk of it yourself.
Second, as for the whole whiny “Would you ask Tom Petty that?” business when Jian asked about your love for music, well Billy Bob, you’re no Tom Petty. Not by a country mile. Tom Petty’s a music legend, an icon. You’re an actor who plays in a band nobody’s ever heard of as a hobby. Everybody else knows it. Why don’t you?
Seriously man, get over yourself.
The problem with guys like you, Billy-Bob, have you’ve probably never given a real media interview in your life.
Ninety-five per cent of the time you hide behind public relations flaks that get paid to keep you insulated from the real world.
The only time guys like you ever do “interviews” is during your film tours, where you sit in front of a poster of your latest flick and have fawning entertainment reporters ask pre-approved questions.
I’m sure when you tell the Hollywood entertainment reporters to jump they all ask ‘how high?’ but they’re not real journalists. They’re bubblegum and grape pop in the meat and potatoes business of news.
Jian Ghomeshi did a great job handling your little temper tantrum. He’s been in the biz for a long time and is well respected. It must have been a real shock after all your years of fame to come across someone who didn’t wanna kiss your feet.
You might be a big wheel in Hollywood, but you could learn a few things about being a decent guy from Jian.