Snorting remark by Keith Richards doesn't sit well with Disney

By Sheigh Crabtree, Special to The Times
April 5, 2007

Snorting a speedball of cocaine and dear old dad may be the stuff of rock 'n' roll legend but apparently it's not the sort of tale told to children at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Keith Richards' macabre remark about snorting a mixture of cocaine and the cremated remains of his deceased father may have amused music fans with its ghoulish sensibilities, but it caused a moment of alarm inside Walt Disney Studios, home to the movie marketing team behind the upcoming "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."

Richards has a much-anticipated cameo as Teague Sparrow, father of Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), in the hit franchise opening May 25. While drinking, womanizing and cannibalism may be comedic themes that course through the film, the real-life substance abuse and off-screen antics of "Pirates" stars are no laughing matters when it comes to marketing and publicizing one of the summer's biggest family films.

"When [a senior Disney publicist] forwarded the [Richards] story to me ... I thought, 'How are we going to spin this?' " Dennis Rice, Disney's senior vice president for publicity, said during a presentation to the media of the studio's upcoming films Wednesday morning.

[Right, because, before the snorting comment, Mr. Richards was well known as a compassionate giver with a history of nonprofit work. And, let's see, in the movie, he plays a freaking grandaddy pirate. We all know the history of good works done by pirates. So, how would you spin the comments?]

'Nuff said

Poster Child



[This message was edited by Jeff Garon on 04-05-07 at .]

It's too bad that they're not as upset about some of the crazy things Rosie O'Donnell says on "The View".

I'm sorry but it's not like it is a big surprise regarding Richards and his history of immense substance abuse. There have probably been thousands of pages written about "Keef" and how so many of his rock n roll buds died trying to keep up with his high level of illegal substance intake. In fact, there were numerous articles released last year regarding many, many infamous stories surrounding the recording of the early 70's album "Exile on Main Street".

And he is one of the few folks, despite all of his bad points, who can rock a telecaster like Muddy Waters.

So it's not like Disney wasn't aware of this terrible reputation he has. In fact, he probably is the original "Bad Boy" of rock and roll.

Yes, but the question is, How do they turn that into a good thing?

By showing him the sherry-introduction-into-the-body-without-using-your-lips technique? Maybe he could have kept his dad's memory alive that way, as well.

As for me, all together now: Exit only

Well JB, I'm not so sure that any spinmiester can turn his now allegedly false claim into a good thing. Well, maybe David Newell at Fort Bend could do a spin on that.

My point was, it shouldn't have been any surprise to anyone at disney in terms of what they had to work with. If that was shocking to them, perhaps they should read his bio for the past 40 years. Then it appears not so surprising.

And like Mr. Greene questioned, this concerns them and not the crap, er, I mean, opinions expressed by Rosie on The View?

BTW, Mr. Greene. I am constantly having defense attorneys tell me, as they file their motions to withdraw in criminal cases, that they can't represent the accused because they are missing a crucial witness, i.e. Mr. Green. They say that Mr. Green has not appeared on their client's behalf. Is that YOU that all these defense attorneys say they need to continue representing their clients?

GG, I too have heard of Mr. Green. Mr. Green apparently is all over the State and yet eludes his many appearances in court!

On the other subject, all that Keith has to do is admit his faults, and go into REHAB! All will be forgiven!

I think it is too late for rehab, SA. I suspect his blood is 100 proof, and rehab just might be too much of a shock to his system.

From Disney Entertainment:

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The controversy over remarks made by Rolling Stones guitarist and soon-to-be paternal pirate Keith Richards are the result of a misunderstanding of what Mr. Richards actually said.

After falling out of a palm tree due to disorientation caused by the rotation of the Earth, Mr. Richards was understandably shaken. During his innocuous incapacity, he mentioned playing a game of eight-ball in memory of his dear old dad with a professional noodler named "Snort." Mr. Richards' lamentable speech impediment, namely the inability to cogently string together more than three to four words at one time, caused the statement to be misunderstood as a macabre anecdote of drug use. We regret any concern that was caused by this misunderstanding. All parties with questions may present them at a special event tomorrow evening during which sherry will be served."

quote:

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Originally posted by Scott Brumley:
After falling out of a palm tree due to disorientation caused by the rotation of the Earth, Mr. Richards was understandably shaken.

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I knew I could count on you to straighten this up.