Last Friday, Radar had a report (that was later confirmed by other sources) that Jonathan Rhys Meyers was acting drunk and crazy at JFK airport a few weeks ago, and his actions led to him being banned from United Airlines. Jonathan acting drunk and crazy at an airport is nothing new – been there, done that, although I was sad to learn that his third stint in rehab didn’t take. Unfortunately, the new twist on Jonathan’s crazy/drunk behavior was that he allegedly used the N-word in his drunken hissy fit as he was being denied entry to his United flight. Ugh.. This story just got a hell of a lot worse:
Tudors star Jonathan Rhys Meyers spewed the ‘N’ word when he was banned from a United Airlines flight due to a drunken display, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.
RadarOnline.com broke the story that the Irish actor was banned from flying United In early May when he became increasingly drunk and disorderly while pounding drinks early in the morning in the first class lounge at New York’s JFK airport. He was waiting to fly to Los Angeles.
Now RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting that the story is even more shocking and ugly. When airline workers noticed the actor drinking and getting out of control they prevented him from boarding the flight to Los Angeles, a source at the airport told us.
As the incident unfolded, Meyers, growing furious, flung the ‘N’ word, the source told RadarOnline.com exclusively. He had been drinking vodka and it was before 7 am. It is unclear if the actor was directing the word toward an individual or just spewing it without a specific target.
The Tudors star used the racial slur as he was being informed by the airline that they were not going to allow him to board the plane. An airline employee confirmed the incident to RadarOnline.com.
It’s by far the ugliest display of behavior for an actor who has a history of traveling misbehavior. In 2007, seven months after checking into rehab for the second time, he was arrested at Dublin airport and charged with being drunk and in breach of peace (the charges were later dropped).
Then, in June 2009, three months after checking out of rehab the third time, he was arrested after allegedly attacking a number of staff at a bar in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport.
[From Radar]
A couple of people pointed out that I treated Jonathan differently than I treated, say, Lindsay Lohan. I do, I acknowledge that. Lindsay is only famous at this point for being a f-cking mess, and she makes no effort to get help or to acknowledge that she’s on one of the biggest, most cracked-out downward spirals ever. Jonathan, on the other hand, seems like a functioning alcoholic who spends his time – in equal parts – doing solid work and being a deranged alcoholic. Plus, I buy that Jonathan really wants help, and that he tries to get help and stay sober, although it doesn’t stick. Now, is Jonathan a racist, or was the N-word just part of some drunken catastrophe? I don’t know. But it pisses me off, and even if he was blackout drunk, he should publicly apologize for the entire incident and seek help, yet again.
Crazy eyes, drunk or not.
Toxedo or not – you’re trash. Using the N-word is the best you could do? How uncreative and you’re an “artist”. Oh, I forgot – you get fed your lines!
That is beyond the pale. Time to cop to f*** on and stop being a nasty drunk. AND issue a seriously grovelling apology.
This is surprsing and news-worthy why?
I don’t remember anyone going easy on Mel Gibson just because he was drunk when he made anti-semitic remarks. Jonathan Rhys Meyers should be held accountable for his booze-fuelled words just like Gibson was.
Tell us how you really feel, Jonathan. Well, drunks speak the truth. don’t they? Slag.
Ok. A gossip site says somebody — not named — said a celebrity said something and we are so sure this is true? Give me a break.
He dates a woman of color. I doubt this is true.
Isn’t his girlfriend of like 5 years African-American. I don’t think this guy is a racist
Jonathan needs to be in rehab lockdown!
Using the ‘N-word’-drunk or not-is never acceptable.
I used to think he was hot actor and had an ‘artistic temperment’, but now its clear that he’s rude and deeply troubled. What a big turn off!
Well if he said it he should apologize. But this is just gossip. Who knows.
The confirmed other sources were unnamed “witnesses”” — that’s hardly fact
I heard it can take 10 stints in rehab to ditch alcoholism for good so at least he is well on his way, as for the N word stuff, maybe he did or maybe he didn’t, however with Mel Gibson his anti semitism had been documented before the drunken incident so it wasn’t a one off comment. Also, I generally don’t like sensationalism, saying the N word when drunk isn’t on par with joining the kkk or exploding a bomb in a minority area or even saying what John Mayer said about black women while totally sober and even he I don’t think is racist per se, just stupid.
Not OK! Mel Gibson didn’t get a pass, so why should he? It’s time for him to grovel and go to rehab.
That woman is an African-American? May be in England. The point is that regardless of whom he is dating, that was a poor choice of word and he displayed an utter lack of self-control.
haha-Dlisted compared him to the Stains dog-the one who stared at the cupcakes with those eyes. such a good comparison. this guy needs court mandated rehab and hefty fines. he is out of control.
Ummm…his girlfriend is not black. She’s Asian. And I’ll stand corrected to the extent that because it’s hearsay I’ll reserve judgment.
Just let me add, however, that just because a person dates a person of color doesn’t mean that they don’t hold racist views, especially against other ethincities. Strom Thurmond for decades marginalized blacks in the US but kept a black mistress and even had a kid with her. How’s that for irony? So, that argument doesn’t work. Anyway, I’m not going to be bothered about another “racism” debate so soon after that bullshit Interview photo shoot.
“however with Mel Gibson his anti semitism had been documented before the drunken incident so it wasn’t a one off comment.”
Mel Gibson was never accused of anti-Semitism until the ADL protested The Passion before seeing the film.
@ViktoryGin…The dating defense is an extension of saying “some of my best friends are…”
JRM sounds like a functioning alcoholic who needs to go teetotal. I hope he gets the help he needs.
“Plus, I buy that Jonathan really wants help, and that he tries to get help and stay sober, although it doesn’t stick.”
Really? Cuz I DON’T buy it. If he really wanted to be sober, he would be. Period. If he really “tried” to stay sober, we wouldn’t be hearing about his drunken airport shenanigans. It does not take umpteen trips to rehab to get sober if you really want sobriety. Someone who is drinking again a few months after going to rehab obviously has no desire to be sober. That is NOT trying. I do think he’s talented and I wish him luck on his journey. He’s going to need it!
I’m disgusted. There’s no excuse for saying that word in any context.I’ve always believed that people often reveal who they really are when drunk. I have always liked Jonathan, and I gave him a pass on some of his behavior before, but not anymore. He’s crossed the line with me big time. I’m also a huge fan of his show The Tudors on Showtime. I guess this means I won’t be watching the last 5 episodes this season, or anything else this drunken idiot does in the future.
Poster above. So you really like The Tudors and you aren’t going to watch because of an unproven allegation about JRM on some online gossip site? Seriously?
In vino veritas, Johnny-boy. You gave yourself away with that one.
just b/c u date someone of color doesn’t mean you don’t have general feelings of hate towards people of color..that is like saying my best friend is black, so I am not a racist..i think often times people see that one person or a couple of people as separate entities..just saying
@Chris if this allegation proves to be true, and it seems that it is because there were reportedly several witnesses, no I won’t be watching The Tudors anymore. That word is unacceptable and I will not support anyone who uses it.
Ya, I get it that the word is unacceptable. What I don’t get is why everyone is so convinced he said it. This all came from a dinky little gossip site. There is no named witness. No photos. United won’t say anything officially because they don’t breach privacy so the gossip site can say whatever they want and they won’t be contradicted. Rhys Meyers can’t deny it cause that will just keep the story going. In other words, just because this guy has a drinking problem and got in trouble in the past, a gossip site can say whatever they want and people will believe it. It think that’s unfair.
still with the N-word – in this day and age? and why would an irishman use the N-word when there are so many fun slang words in the UK? like slag, slapper, tosser, tit and wanker? i hope it isn’t true, but if it is then he sucks.
First of all, this is still all allegedly. So maybe we should find out for sure, before we attack the guy. If it’s true, I do think an apology is in order regardless if was due to an drunken outburst. And whether he said the word or not, I think its time to give rehab another go.
If it was a more reputable source than RadarOnline, maybe I’d believe it, but it hasn’t been. I will withhold any judgment unless we see more of this type of behavior or speech.
Who is he?
“Plus, I buy that Jonathan really wants help, and that he tries to get help and stay sober” Really Kaiser… to me, IMO, if he really wanted to change, maybe his third stint in rehab would’ve stuck…i know the first time is almost impossible for most, but that sh** should be sticking after the third trip to rehab, seems he doesn’t want to change, and will always have an excuse for not changing
I’m getting tired of libtards throwing out the r-word all the time to destroy people they don’t like. It’s been used so often, it’s lost its effect. Of course some mentally deficient people still react like Pavlov’s dog when they hear the word.
@ Original Kate – the UK might have some fun slang words, but Ireland ain’t part of the UK… Not to get specifically at you, but Ireland is seperate from the UK completely and utterly.
@The Bobster – I’m pretty feckin’ liberal, but he either acted completely out of line, or he’s put himself in the position where he would find it very difficult to defend himself -and on this blog at least many people believe there’s no smoke without fire. He might very well hold racist opinions (hardly uncommon here in Ireland or in Britain), or he might not – but every single Irishman in his 30s knows better than to mouth off like that in America.
@ original kate; just to clarify, he’s actually from the Republic, not Northern Ireland 😉 Growing up in Cork, he’d have learned far more interesting slagging than “tosser” 😉
what a douche. just because he dates a woman of colour doesn’t mean he isn’t also racist, racism can be far more subtle than simply avoiding people of colour. and my guess is that if he’s using the word drunk then he’s also using it in private when the press aren’t listening.
@ Mairead – It would have been pretty funny if he had called them “langers” instead!!
Oh dear. Jonathan I’ve tried to like you but you are just too damn drunk and CRAZY.
Always made excuses for him ’cause I think he’s hot, but that’s it – done with him now.
What a complete A-HOLE!!
‘I’m getting tired of libtards throwing out the r-word all the time to destroy people they don’t like.’
Thank God minorities haven’t had to deal with that same issue since time immemorial. That would be bizzare. How many times in the last few month and recent years have we been bombarded with stories about yet another celebrity shooting off his mouth with this?
Of course some mentally deficient people still react like Pavlov’s dog when they hear the word.
Absolutely. Like clockwork, whenever the N-word is used, hoardes of apologists surface and is if by magic, they berate the sensibilities of sensitive misanthropes. We’re linked and need to be good to each other, do believe it and try to live it, but this is just getting to be too much. Maybe minorities aren’t chomping at the bit to play another round of ‘what the majority is allowing.’ When people have offensive things said to them, they’re going to be offended.
Or, you know, maybe people could stop using that language.
This boy is certainly on more than just booze…methinx
>>I’m getting tired of libtards throwing out the r-word all the time to destroy people they don’t like.<<
It’s a little contradictory to use a slangy variant of the word ‘retard’ to condemn the use of the word ‘racist.’
I view outbursts of this kind (like the ranting Gibson did and any sort of epithet slinging while under the influence of alcohol or drugs)as a momentary insanity.
I mean, maybe he’s a raging racist, but I doubt it.
When you grow up in a home (like Mel Gibson did) with a volatile drunk for a parent, hearing racial ranting and vitriol on a regular basis, that kind of expression of anger becomes “normal.” I know this because I grew up with a drunk who was obsessed with WWII history and became increasingly anti-semitic over the years.
We are all appalled by this behavior, but we are not as sensitive to it as others would be. We don’t jump when we hear the rhetoric. We close our eyes and shake our heads, but we’re not shocked by it anymore because we’ve heard it too many times for it to have emotional weight.
So. Back to these troubled men with alcohol problems and daddy issues. They get sad or angry or frustrated or scared. They drink and drink and drink. They’re fuzzy headed and feeling confrontational. Someone agitates him, and he starts ranting against his antagonist. In this state, he reverts to an expression of anger he’s heard over and over and over and over. Out pop words that don’t belong to him, but someone else entirely. People are more complicated than, “He said that word. He’s a racist.” They just are.
It happens. I’m NOT EXCUSING IT. I’m offering what I see as a realistic mitigating circumstance.
Has JRM EVER popped out with something like this while he was sober? Is there any reason to believe he actually has a “problem” with black people?
Did he grow up with a drunken mother or father? Was someone in his childhood home a racist who used racial epithets on a regular basis?
One nasty, mean-spirited word said while a person is under the influence doesn’t make them a racist. All his previous behavior, we forgive, but his use of an ugly word in public…that’s it, put him up on a pyre?
I guess I don’t operate that way. I’ve always thought he seemed like a thug and a drunk, but for those who have always excused or overlooked his past abuse of people and substances to take his use of the N-word one time while drunk off his ass and single that out as the reason…I think it’s misguided.
He needs serious intervention. I think he suffers from addictions and maybe some other mental illness; maybe bipolar disorder?
Love all the arm chair doctors and therapists on here.
Oenix “That woman is an African-American? May be in England.”
What does this mean? You think in England we call Asian people African-American?
maybe he really doesn’t like flying….
*crickets crickets*
Wow, how psychic am I to pick this dick as a total douchebag?? Not very, since ‘narcissistic drama queen’ is basically stamped on his forehead. Did I say ‘narcissistic drama queen’- I meant racist fuckstick!
Silly moi.
@The Bobster:
What rock did you crawl from under? Telling people that blatantly racist remarks should be ignored only indicates that you are “as stupid as you are callous”. Realistically, on a global scale, Caucasians are a minority — not a majority. In order to be respected, you have to be respectful. Racial and ethnic slurs do nothing of the sort except perpetuate unproductive conflicts and negative stereotypes. I doubt seriously if you would enjoy some jackass disrespecting your cultural and/or ethnic heritage. You’d probably be “madder than a hornet” and ready to “pimp slap” the person who said it. It never ceases to amaze me how those who dish out such garbage can’t take it.
I was a huge fan but can’t say I am still. It’s sad that someone so talented has be to so stupid. JRM obivously has undercover feelings concerning black people. But it doesn’t matter because you really show your’e true feelings when your’e drunk. That would have never came out if he truly didn’t feel that way. With him being drunk just left his crazy emotions wide open for everyone see.
Unfortunately, this man has serious drinking problem and needs help. Deep mental help to find the true reason why he’s an acoholic. I wish him well in that matter because he’s a human being & no one deserves to suffer in that way.
But at the same time, I can’t say I would run to see his movies anymore either.
Maybe it was “blaguard” (slurred)?
i hart jonathan and forgive him anything i can make faintly forgivable, and i’m not saying he *is* a racist, but the argument that he’s dating a black girl and ergo can’t be racist is … weak. so, if a guy dates women, he can’t be sexist?
I love Jonathan Rhys Meyers performance work, as Henry in Tudors he has given us one of the greatest series performances ever, plus he is one of the hottest looking men in the world. But that is no excuse for his drunken excesses and especially his verbal and physical assaults. I suspect the part of it we do not see is his deep shame and guilt reading reports like this. I hope he gets control of himself. He is so talented and obviously loves his work. He must be very lonely and that drives him to excessive drinking (I am making excuses because… you know…)
So easy to sit at your keyboards and…judge.
Jonny O’Keeffe spent the first seven months of his life in a Dublin incubator not expected to live…he managed it. As a destitute Irish street kid, he also managed, through his own tenacity and brilliance, to escape the clutches of the Christian Brothers and Cork City poolhalls to emerge by 19 as Jonathan Rhys Meyers on the cover of Interview Magazine, a world class model shot by Bailey and Avedon ALSO cast to act beside a procession of oscar winners by lauded directors who widely regard him as perhaps the best actor of his generation. He’s made three dozen films, starred in half of them, won a globe for channeling Elvis and WILL end up thanking the academy someday.
That is, if he survives…Hollywood.
Frankly, I admire the hell out of Jonathan Rhys Meyers, I don’t CARE if he behaves well at airports and I don’t think Jonny O’Keeffe, pool hustler from Cork, owes ANYONE an apology for…His Life.
I pray Jonny masters his demons but would not presume to tell him how to do it. Look at what he’s managed to do…without me.
As for…the “n word”
How WILLING many of you are to brand jonny, to ruin him, literally, on the flimsy sayso of a gossip site. That says more about your bigotry than his.
The ONLY source for that…slander…is RadarOnline, sleazy spinoff of the National Enquirer, that solicits the public to out celebrities. It MADE it’s name on THIS unsubstatiated claim about Jonny (the airline would NOT confirm that he said it) and has now moved on the redder meat of…Mel Gibson.
as a footnote…
At the time the n word was allegedly flung, Jonathan Rhys Meyers was in talks to portray George Cleburne, the daring confederate general from Cork who…tried to free the slaves.
I suppose that filthy RACIST could play a civil war emancipator but…why would he?
Maybe he’s…not…who you think he is.