If these guys would just be HONEST and OPEN about their careers and their music, there'd be a whole lot less rumor and speculation.
I don't see why either of them, or any other entertainer or media personality, should be expected to be "honest and open" about any aspect of their lives behind the scenes. Firstly, they should be afforded the same privacy you'd grant any stranger on the street. Secondly they aren't in the honesty and openness business, they're entertainers. To paraphrase W.C.Fields; Why be honest when, with a little effort, you can be entertaining? In general, I'm not particularly interested in whether one guy bitched about his bandmates to another guy's personal assistant - but as a fan I'd rather hear about that than the mundane truth of their daily lives. Ideally, both of them would stop airing their dirty laundry in public - but there will always be speculation and so there will always be attempts to "set the record straight," and if there aren't ready-made rumors to talk about then someone, somewhere, will provide one. Which begs the question of whether the cycle of conjecture and clarifications is really fueled by the personalities involved or by the fans. I'd bet on the latter. In which case, why should anyone have to be honest and open about every little rumor which crops up when they can, with a little effort, mind-fuck the fans for months.
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