Mysterytrain |
04-30-2013 07:24 AM |
I've been puzzling over all of the theories I've seen/discussed/read regarding the Richie situation, and I've come up with an idea to add to the mix. As a big Richie fan, I'd love to be proven wrong about this, but since I have anxiety and emotional codependency issues, myself, I can empathize some, if this scenario has any truth to it.
Basically, I'm wondering if Richie has replaced drinking to cope with stress with fleeing conflict (literally).
The story that made me consider this angle was one I had forgotten: Last year, Richie and Denise Richards were scheduled to present at an awards show. Apparently, they got into an argument, and Richie took off and flew back to L.A., leaving Denise to present the award on her own.
Meanwhile, Richie does his solo tour in Europe, which sold out in pre-sale! He is loved, he is adored. He Tweets enthusiastically after each show. However, the U.S. dates don't fare so well, so he claims illness and cancels most of them, and turns the LA show into a charity show (commendable, of course, but by doing this, he can also take the focus off of himself and what might otherwise be disappointment at not selling to a packed house). Therefore, stress of poor sales averted, even if for only one show.
On Twitter, fans get pissed that he's cancelled so many U.S. shows, and they call him out on it. Eventually, perhaps after being 'attacked' one too many times, Richie sends out a couple of nearly incoherent Tweets. Though I didn't understand quite what he was saying, the tone I got was akin to a cornered, wounded animal, trying to defend itself. However, by the next day, Richie claimed his Twitter account had been hacked, and that we should just ignore the seemingly out-of-character Tweets.
Now, magnify that type of scene, only have Jon as the source of the conflict. Richie gets offended by something, and flees by leaving the tour. Instead of dealing with the conflict, he can hide out for a few weeks, then send a few Tweets to his own Twitter fan base, and then chill and watch his 'Every Road' contest submissions, while, in the very same state of California, his band mates play a show (and just in case they're wondering how he's doing as they prepare to go live, he Tweets he's 'having fun'). No crisis here!
If any of this is true, then it says to me that Richie's coping mechanism is the main problem here: Perhaps he has substituted drinking with running away from stress. Unfortunately, this behavior affects a lot more than the band; it affects his loyal fans, as well. On his part, it points to deeper psychological issues than addiction.
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