Bitch wrote on Dec 4
th, 2009 at 10:10am:
Yeah I'm sure everyone has lost respect for Ronnie. Me too! But I still love the guy and want to see him pull himself out of this mess. It IS possible to recover, and I blame RONNIE and the liquor/substance abuse, not Kat or Jo. It's all on Ronnie. Many people will say 'go to hell' and I bet MICK is worried about the Stones 'image' that this will have done some permanent damage to the Stones. Not most of us, because we are loyal beyond the norm, but the average fan may not want to buy a ticket to see the Stones after this incident.
More importantly from a band perspective, whilst no charges have been brought at present, if something happens and he does get done for assault, I would imagine that potential tour sponsors could well not want to touch the band (he'll also have to be medically insured for a tour, and if his health deteriorates, then thats another problem with regard to sponsorships)- and additionally, he may have some problems with visas etc if he has a recent criminal record for violent conduct.
Whilst I've no real doubt the Stones will tour in the near future, either or both of the above worst case scenarios could end up making the rest of the band's decision about what to do about him a lot easier...and if it means them potentially losing millions in revenue, then I've no doubt they literally WOULD drop him like a stone if it came to it.
Shades of 40 years ago when they had a big US tour coming up in 1969 and dropped the band's founding member due to a combination of potential difficulties with him getting a visa due to a criminal record and also because of his increasing unreliability.