Friday, Caleb Followill walked off stage in a drunken, over-heated huff in the middle of the Kings of Leon’s Dallas concert. He never came back on stage, much to the consternation of his bandmates. Immediately after the incident, it seemed like Jared Followill was going to be the one in charge of truth-telling damage control, as he tweeted “There are internal sicknesses & problems that have needed to be addressed. I know you guys aren’t stupid. I can’t lie. There are problems in our band bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade.” Unfortunately, Jared’s honesty got pushed aside for standard-issue PR BS yesterday, when the band announced that they were canceling the remainder of their domestic tour because of Caleb’s “vocal issues and exhaustion.” Now Us Weekly has a story from “sources” claiming what everyone has been saying – Caleb has a drinking problem, and his bandmates are trying to force him into rehab:
Kings of Leon fans were crestfallen on Monday when the band cancelled its entire U.S. tour. Although the band said that lead singer Caleb Followill was “suffering from vocal issues and exhaustion,” an insider close to the Grammy winning trio tells Us Weekly the problem is deeper than that.
“They are trying to get Caleb to go to rehab. It is mostly for alcohol,” the source says. “[That’s why] they ended up canceling the whole tour… he drinks like a fish.”
Indeed, the band cut short a Friday concert in Dallas when Caleb told fans “I’m gonna go backstage and I’m gonna vomit, I’m gonna drink a beer,” leaving the stage for the night.
Adds a second source: “It’s true. Caleb’s drinking is out of control and they are trying to get him into rehab. It’s a dark demon he has been fighting for awhile.”
A rep for the band tells Us: “The reason for the cancellation of the tour is Caleb is under doctor’s orders for vocal rest. They feel terrible about canceling. They look forward to getting back on the road at the end of September.”
Caleb’s bandmate and brother Jared hinted at Caleb’s struggles via Twitter.
“There are internal sicknesses & problems that have needed to be addressed,” Jared wrote Saturday. “I know you guys aren’t stupid. I can’t lie. There are problems in our band bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade.”
On Monday, after news of the cancelled tour went wide, he added: “Utterly depressed. It’s completely out of my hands. Family has to come 1st.”
Counters a third band source: “They all drink, all the [bandmates]. Anyone in a band usually likes to have a few beers on the road…They have never discussed [Caleb’s drinking] as a problem before.”
[From Us Weekly]
On one side, I think rock n’ roll and alcohol go together like vodka and Fritos (mm…). After all, look at Keith Richards, the patron saint of surviving nearly any kind of addiction you could imagine. Of course, for every Keith, there are a dozen Amy Winehouses, so on that side, I think it’s a good sign that Caleb has people around him who give a crap.
What are the thoughts on whether Caleb really has a drinking problem, or whether he just drinks too much? It’s a slippery slope. I think his bandmates probably thought he just drank too much until one night he couldn’t even finish a performance.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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