Singer Linda Ronstadt Ejected by Las Vegas Casino

[Happy Monkey]

More people seem to care more about what Linda Ronstadt thinks than is probably healthy.

[lookout123]

Originally Posted by ladysycamore

Wow did she just say, "I dedicate the next song to Michael Moore" or was it more than that? Damn!

she actually has made that a part of every show since F9/11 came out. this is the same woman who said that she is unable to enjoy a show if she thinks there might be a republican or a fundamental christian in the audience. just another entertainer who forgot that they exist to entertain us, not lecture us. and yes, i feel that way about every entertainer no matter their political preference.

the aladdin has every right to toss her out. they are a business. whether they feel that her comments were inappropriate or her breath was just a little smelly, it doesn't matter, they own the joint and they have to right to toss her for any reason or no reason at all. freedom to express one's opinion goes both ways.

[hot_pastrami]

Like so many problems, it seems that the cause of this was a number of people behaving stupidly in a close proximity. Linda Ronstadt, who made volatile, politically charged remarks to her politically-mixed "fans," and the audience members who thought that a temper tantrum was a suitable rebuttal. Aside from the destruction of property, nobody did anythig "wrong," but many are guilty of being nose-bleedingly stupid.

Sure, she has the right to say whatever she wants, but then she must pay the obvious consequences (being asked to leave, and never being invited back). The ultimate price of freedom is that other people may sometimes exercise their freedoms in ways you don't like. Many Americans seem to forget that these days.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by lookout123

just another entertainer who forgot that they exist to entertain us, not lecture us. and yes, i feel that way about every entertainer no matter their political preference.

Why? What makes you think entertainers exist only to entertain you? If someone has a soapbox and an opinion, they have every right to use it. Being a singer doesn't make her opinions any more valid - or any less. It's easy enough for me to not listen to Dennis Miller. I don't try to get him fired. (In fact, if he were fired, his occasional egregiously bad bits wouldn't make the rounds on the internet.)

Of course the Alladin has the right to fire Linda Ronstadt. If their clientelle can be whipped into a riot by the mention of Michael Moore, it would be foolish for them to have someone a controversial as Linda Ronstadt. They should just pipe in some light jazz.

[lookout123]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

If their clientelle can be whipped into a riot by the mention of Michael Moore,

it doesn't sound like a riot to me. sounds more like a few drunken idiots who found an excuse to act out. i've seen one or two of those in vegas, myself.


i wasn't saying that entertainers give up the right to speak their minds. if i go to a musical concert, i pretty much just want to see the show, hear the songs, that type of thing. if i go see a comedian, i expect to hear political ranting. anyway - they have the right to say what they want, it is their stage. i just hate hearing some of them turn around and cry when people respond by boycotting their projects. it is not censorship when your marketability suffers because of your politics, no matter what Martin Sheen, Robbins, or any of the others think.

Just like the Dixie Chix - that whole thing was overblown and stupid, but really. if you make your very comfortable living off country music fans, who for the most part are red, white, and blue wearing, right leaning, self-described patriots who support the president - don't be surprised when people quit buying your tickets and cd's for a short period of time after you insult the man.

[wolf]

I can have as many discussions of political (or religious or other controversial) topics as I like amongst my coworkers, behind the scenes.

If I do so with a customer (patient or patient's family) I can be fired.

Says so in my employee handbook and everything.

[Beestie]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

... What makes you think entertainers exist only to entertain you? ... If someone has a soapbox and an opinion, they have every right to use it.

What kind of dumb question is that? No entertainer has the right to hijack a performance for which they are being compensated. No one has the right to use their employer's venue to espouse their personal opinions.

A soapbox speech is delivered at the expense of the deliverer and not on someone else's dime. If Linda Ronstadt has something to say, let her pay for a concert hall, sell her own tickets and then she can blab all she wants. Or, she can publish her own book or cut her own CD with her views narrated on it. Or she can ask Oprah to invite her on to discuss her views. Whatever.

It isn't free speech when someone else is paying for it! Of course, highjacking a conservative venue to deliver a liberal message is ok since the end justifies the means, right?

[Happy Monkey]

If she didn't have the right to say it, she would have been sued. As it was, she was invited not to return. She was well within her rights to say it and the casino was well within their rights to fire her. The only people who did anything wrong were the vandals.

[hot_pastrami]

Originally Posted by Beestie

No entertainer has the right to hijack a performance for which they are being compensated.

Our society has a lot of self-imposed pseudo-rights which are based on political correctness. As a citizen, Linda Ronstadt has the right to do anything that is not against the law. If her contract said that she is forbidden from sharing political views while performing, then she has waived that right upon signing it. But it is doubtful that her contact carried any such stipulation, otherwise we'd be reading about the breach of contract.

So yes, she had the right to do it, but that doesn't make it smart, nor socially appropriate. And the consequence will probably be reduced popularity with the Repulicans out there. But if that doesn't bother her, why should it bother anybody else?

[DanaC]

just another entertainer who forgot that they exist to entertain us, not lecture us. and yes, i feel that way about every entertainer no matter their political preference.

And there was I thinking America had a long and proud tradition of protest singers. Woody Guthrie must be turning in his grave. Would you guys prefe rit if there had been no Dylan? Or would you just like to have had him declawed ?

Since when were Americans so afraid of political views? Since when did they compartmentalise politics away from entertainment and the arts? Life is political. Man is a political animal and so is a female singer. She was honest and true to herself as an artiste and as a human being. To percieve such a vast crime ( rightly or wrongly) and to allow that crime to go unmentioned when she has a platform would be negligence on her part. Keeping silent whilst crimes are committed in your name is in itself a crime to my mind.

To be silent about a crime you do not percieve is one thing, to stay silent when you believe these things to be true is unforgivable.

[Radar]

If you pay to see a show, you are paying to see whatever show the entertainer wants to give you. You don't choose which songs they'll sing or what they'll talk about. She was given a suite by the hotel which was surely in her contract. She was escorted (thrown) out of the casino before she could even go to her room to collect her things.

She did nothing wrong, but the hotel did. They have the right to fire her, but if her contract called for a suite, she's entitled to it, and entitled to gather her things before leaving.

Also if the musicians didn't lose thier job because of something she said, they lost thier job because a bunch of morons decided to throw drinks and make a big deal out of nothing. They lost their jobs because the casino chose to fire the band even though Linda Rondstadt did nothing that could be considered inappropriate.

[lookout123]

Originally Posted by DanaC

And there was I thinking America had a long and proud tradition of protest singers.

um, yeah. all i am saying is that when entertainers,who do not have politics as a normal subject matter in their performance, go on a rant it can be annoying. they have the right to do it. i defend that right. i also defend the right of the people who object and refuse to give further funds to the entertainer. i do not support idiots who were looking for an excuse to throw drinks.

personally i would throw drinks and go into violent convulsions just being forced to listen to Linda R's voice.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by DanaC

And there was I thinking America had a long and proud tradition of protest singers. Woody Guthrie must be turning in his grave. Would you guys prefe rit if there had been no Dylan? Or would you just like to have had him declawed ?

Linda Ronstadt is not now nor has she ever been a protest singer. She is a used up, has been lounge singer.

Protest singers are fine people ... there's a big difference, though, between "Blowing in the Wind" and "When Will I Be Loved" in terms of political content.

[Happy Monkey]

I gotta say that "I didn't expect to hear Moore's name" has gotta be the stupidest excuse for vandalism I've heard in a while.

[DanaC]

*chuckles* I agree HM