Lots of agoraphobics aren’t jerks. Even when they’re nervous. Billy Bob was a jerk. Agoraphobia isn’t a valid excuse in my book. (He didn’t seem all that nervous to me, in any case; he seemed unjustifiably angry.) Billy Bob deserved every boo he got from Canadian crowds.

@ Eric – This is true. Everyone deals in different ways, so it’s not really fair for anyone to say, “Oh, well, he’s agoraphobic, so, you know…” Plus, anyone who has any kind of mental health issue – whether it’s agoraphobia, depression, or bipolar disorder – is allowed to also have other things, like jerk-like tendencies, haha. Nice blog, by the way.

I’ve seen him in interviews on tv before and he’s definitely a bit off. He doesn’t really make eye-contact, he always appears to be nervous and I think he does have a reputation for being pretty gruff. I don’t know what his deal is but he certainly doesn’t seem to relate to people in a “normal” way. I think that’s a lot of the reason whay some people become actors. But it doesn’t give him any right to treat people poorly.

@ Hannah – Yeah, part of me just wants to give him a hug (and yes, I know how hokey that sounds, lol) – I always feel like that when I see someone not dealing well with attention or social interaction. I also think part of the reason for his negative comments about the Canadian fans was how he was feeling toward Jian Ghomeshi during the interview. Not a wise move, mind you, but I think he was trying to “lash out” in some way because of how he was feeling about the interviewer.

The idea of doing any kind of live performance is terrifying to me. I could handle something like shooting scenes in a movie where you have more control over your environment, but being in a situation where I would feel socially trapped, couldn’t just stand up and walk away without humiliation — no second takes on the scene? I can’t even handle being in the middle of a row in a movie theater. I would obsess for days about the performance, build up the anxiety with a bunch of what-ifs. I haven’t heard this interview, but getting anxious and trying to cover it up, panicking a bit and saying the wrong thing, which just make the phobia that much worse next time…yeah, I really can see that happening. And yes, even us agoraphobics can just be jerks at times, being human and all.

I heard that interview as it was unfolding and truly believed he was stoned out of his mind. His speech was slurred and what he said had no connection to the question or the situation. I can’t imagine why Ghomeshi continued wasting his time on him.

Billy Bob, do you really think you’re too cool for school? i think not. I mean, c’mon, your name is “Billy Bob” …