Jon Bon Jovi calls Justin Bieber an ‘a**hole,’ comments on Richie Sambora

In a new interview, veteran rocker Jon Bon Jovi slammed Justin Bieber for starting shows late and warning him that he risks alienating his audience. The Bon Jovi frontman also commented on the departure of guitarist Richie Sambora, who is not touring with them.

While speaking with the Evening Standard in Vienna, Bon Jovi was referring to Bieber’s late arrival to the stage at London’s O2 arena in March.

“Every generation has guys that do that, none of that is new,” Bon Jovi, 51, explained. “hey run the risk of disrespecting their audience members who have worked hard to pay for their ticket, to give you the permission to take two or three hours of their lives — or in that kid’s case, 80 minutes of their lives.”

Bon Jovi said that if you do it more than once, your audience is likely to give up. “Do it once, you can be forgiven. Do it enough times and shame on you,” he said. “They won’t have you back. Then it just becomes a cliché. It’s really not cool — you’re an a**hole. Go to f***in’ work!”

The “You Give Love A Bad Name” singer also finally commented about Sambora’s decision not to join the group on their current world tour. Sambora said that he had to stay in Los Angeles for a “personal matter,” but fans were left to speculate about what that matter was. Sambora also skipped the 2011 tour to go to rehab for alcoholism.

“It’s getting more and more difficult every day to not just sit here and say something... Because all I can say is this — it’s for personal reasons. He’s been through it before, fortunately for us the same guy who filled in last time was available this time,” Bon Jovi said.

Bon Jovi said that the group has managed to keep going despite Sambora’s absence. ““Life goes on, so if someone chooses not to be here... unlike if this were, God forbid, The Edge, and he for some reason couldn’t make a U2 show, [then] it would be very difficult to just step in,” he said. “You have a choice — you either figure it out, go and grow, not only survive but thrive. Or, you say, ‘I hate my brother and I’m gonna quit the band.’”

Bon Jovi continues touring Europe through July 5 and will perform stadium dates in Chicago, Detroit, Boston and New York starting on July 12.

image: NBC

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