Alladin makes Whoppi passe

[Gonz]

This is actually getting fun.

Aladdin President Bill Timmins ordered security guards to escort pop diva Linda Ronstadt off the property following a concert Saturday night during which she expressed support for controversial documentary filmmaker Michael Moore.

Timmins, who was among the almost 5,000 fans in the audience at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, had Ronstadt escorted to her tour bus and her belongings from her hotel room sent to her. Timmins also sent word to Ronstadt that she was no longer welcome at the property for future performances, according Aladdin spokeswoman Tyri Squyres.

How much weight that carries is debatable, since the bankrupt Aladdin is in the process of being sold to a group headed by Planet Hollywood International Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Earl.

Near the close of her performance, Ronstadt dedicated the Eagles hit "Desperado" to Moore, producer of "Fahrenheit 9/11," and the room erupted into equal parts boos and cheers.

She said Moore "is someone who cares about this country deeply and is trying to help."

Las Vegas Sun

 

[Winky]

Makes me proud to be an American!

Down with the Hollyweird Left!!!

 

[The Other One]

Poor Linda---she sees one propaganda film and her career is kaputt.

When are people going to learn that Michael Moore is actually not well-liked?

She's dumb enough to support the fat slob and his political rhetoric. Pissing off an audience will lose promoters their money and when they lose money as a direct result of your actions, don't be surprised when you get fired.

Same goes for Whoppi. Don't expect a company to keep you around if what you spew can effect that company's profits in a negative way.

They both have a right to speak their mind, but their employer has the right to fire them when they become a financial liability.

 

[ResearchMonkey]

I like it!

 

[Gonz]

Watch out. The NY Times has redefined what private companies may to do their contract workers.

July 21, 2004
Desperadoes

omething went awry at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas last Saturday night. Linda Ronstadt did what she has done at several concerts across the country this summer. She dedicated the song "Desperado"- an encore - to Michael Moore and urged members of the audience to go see his new movie, "Fahrenheit 9/11."

Elsewhere, audiences have reacted to the mention of Mr. Moore by cheering, booing, walking out and sometimes glaring at one another in parking lots. At the Aladdin, a few audience members tore down posters, threw drinks and demanded their money back. According to one person who was present - William Timmins, the Aladdin's president - it was "a very ugly scene." Mr. Timmins promptly made it even uglier. He had Ms. Ronstadt ejected from the premises.

This behavior assumes that Ms. Ronstadt had no right to express a political opinion from the stage. It implies - for some members of the audience at least - that there is a philosophical contract that says an artist must entertain an audience only in the ways that audience sees fit. It argues, in fact, that an artist like Ms. Ronstadt does not have the same rights as everyone else.

Perhaps her praise for Mr. Moore, even at the very end of her show, did ruin the performance for some people. They have a right to voice their disapproval - to express their opinion as Ms. Ronstadt expressed hers and to ask for a refund. But if their intemperate behavior began to worry the management, then they were the ones who should have been thrown out and told never to return, not Ms. Ronstadt, who threatened, after all, only to sing.

 

[The Other One]

Linda Ronstadt: I don't like singing for Christians
Singer admits having believers in audience 'can cloud my enjoyment'

© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

Singer Linda Ronstadt appears to have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward Republicans and Christians who might be in her audiences – she'd rather not know they are there.

In a recent interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, the entertainer said:

"This is an election year, and I think we're in desperate trouble and it's time for people to speak up and not pipe down. It's a real conflict for me when I go to a concert and find out somebody in the audience is a Republican or fundamental Christian. It can cloud my enjoyment. I'd rather not know."

Ronstadt says she routinely dedicates a song in her concerts to leftist filmmaker Michael Moore, director of the anti-Bush movie "Fahrenheit 9/11." As WorldNetDaily reported, hundreds of fans at an Aladdin Hotel Las Vegas show over the weekend stormed out after she made a tribute to Moore. The incident, in which she also made disparaging remarks about the hotel and Las Vegas, caused her to be banned from the facility.

 

[Gato_Solo]

Well...Freedom of Speech issues aside, Ms. Ronstadt is an idiot. You have to gauge your audience...she didn't.

1. People wanted to be entertained...not preached to.

2. As for the audience reaction...totally off-base. Demand your money back, if you like, but don't trash the promotors building if the premier act bombs at the end.

3. The NYT is a bunch of idiots. Maybe they don't realize how quickly their passion for Ms. Ronstadt can balloon into control over their area of 'expertise' as well.