A Missed Opportunity in the Billy Bob Thornton Fiasco

I’m not sure of the category in which to place tortured celebrities. Like with politicians, the rules of the PR game are vastly different, so to even begin to prescribe, especially from a novice perspective, PR advice to somebody like Billy Bob Thornton would be premature.

At the same time, the public response to Thornton’s highly publicized emotional temper tantrum warrants, at the least, a review of how perception rules in these situations, far above what is “real.”

Nobody failed to miss this point more than Jim Markel at Swampland.com. Markel it seems is one of the few who comes out in defense of Thornton’s behavior on Canada’s CBC Radio show last week.

While Markel is correct to redefine context where appropriate, he misses the larger point about public relations dynamics – it’s not what is factual, true or real, it is what people hear and interpret that must be addressed in times of controversy.

This is where Thornton and his band, The Boxmasters, encourage a view of desperation, post-Thornton temper tantrum. The band just canceled the Canadian leg of its tour – after being heckled en masse when the interview went insanely viral last week on Youtube (the band claims members of its cast and crew came down with the flu, a trick every third grader who failed to complete homework on time knows well) – and the by republishing verbatim Markel’s point-by-point transcription of a context he considers important.

Both actions affirm the view of Billy Bob Thornton appearing spoiled and cry-babyish.

I admire that Markel rushes to The Boxmasters’ defense, and I too look forward to the band’s release in question. At the same time, much is lost in this perspective. To its credit, Swampland includes the original Youtube interview and allows its readers to respond.

Markel concludes by calling himself an unabashed supporter of The Boxmasters. I would add that sometimes the best supporters are those willing to point out when mistakes are made.