Quote:
Originally Posted by Eveline
(Post 1246191)
"I'm pretty. Now kiss my ass!"
It's unbelivable, yet it's a fact. The guy does he wants and his massive following just gasp in awe. There's no way any falling-out is just one person's fault. No way in heaven or hell. Just f***in' no! Not buying that, Jonny.
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Of course he does what he wants, that's what being the owner of a business allows (within legal frameworks of course). It amazes me that people don't get that this was always Jon's show and always his path that was being taken. Level headed people on here seem to be in complete denial about that even now.
Richie was always an employee. Employees can be highliy contributing members, supporting, and yes, even friends, but still an employee. I have no doubt Jon and Richie were good friends and maybe even the "brothers" they sold themselves as. All the while, there was never any doubt within the organization of who was boss.
Those relationships can and do change and that's clearly what happened here.
There should be little doubt that Jon helped Richie out of the door. Heading back to the documentary we can see Richie and David were more upset with the situation in the band than they ever hinted at before. Heck, David basically said he is only in the band for the money. The last 10 years of Bon Jovi have been largely turgid and if Richie was a dissenter then the relationship may have broken.
Of course, that's speculation and sure that's what a place like this is for. However, if we just take the facts that are out there and known, it does not really look good for Richie.
- He heavily contributed to the crap Bon Jovi has turned out this century.
- Jon was there for him through several documented episodes. Richie has never denied this to be true.
- Richie decided to leave the band in a cowardly manner. I mean, at least have the balls to call Jon up and say **** you. If that's too harsh, he decided to leave without notice.
- Richie offered a frankly terrible excuse that he needed to spend more time with his daughter.
Anything beyond those points (and maybe some I have forgotten) is just people picking a side.
Back to speculation, again, it seems obvious that Jon must have helped Richie on his way. Still, the facts we do know about suggest either way, Richie was the architect of his own downfall.
And now some wild speculation. This all occured at a time when the two went through some drastic changes. Richie stopped being content with being a cool aging rockstar and had some kind of latter-mid-life crisis, which I think is ongoing. Jon stopped being content with being a cool aging rockstar and decided to turn it all in and become a regular 55-year old guy.
Jon's change is obviously more respectable on the surface, but is just as damaging as Richie's to the look and feel of a rock band. Basically, they both went to opposite ends of the spectrum so perhaps it's no surprise the relationship broke.
