It kind of looks like George was talking without really thinking about how he said what he said. Implying that there were ‘grumblings’ behind William Peteresen’s departure and tension with Gary Dourdan and Jorja Fox when they left is par for the course. When someone wants to leave a job, they usually aren’t the most fun to be around because they’re ready to be gone, after all.
But then he dropped this bombshell:
I miss Jorja, but having [Lauren Lee Smith] here, not being a diva, not being insecure, just doing a good job and being a really sweet person … We’re lucky to have [her].
Clearly a lot of this is open to interpenetration, but questions 5, 6, 8 and 9 are fairly eye-brow raising. Read the whole article at aol.com and form your own opinions: 14 Questions With: George Eads
Think before you speak buddy! You clearly don’t know what you are talking about!
Jorja Fox, Billy Petersen and Gary Dourdan are great persons and great actors!
That certinaly calls for an “Oh, no he didn’t!”
9. How’re your new co-stars Laurence Fishburne and Lauren Lee Smith?
Laurence Fishburne’s a dream. I feel like he raises our integrity level. He comes in to it with a lot of humility; he’s nice, he’s sweet. I told him, “Thanks for being such a good sport, man.” Like I’m sitting there telling you what to do. It’s like teaching Superman how to fly. But he said “Hey, I came in to play, baby.” That’s cool, I love it. [Lauren and I] had an early morning on location, and she had a great attitude. At the end of the day I said, “I miss Jorja, but having you here, not being a diva, not being insecure, just doing a good job and being a really sweet person … We’re lucky to have you.” Sometimes you’re stuck with people for 13 hours in a day — who do you want to be stuck with? I think Lauren and Laurence, just are really cool people, they’re a good fit.
Okay, as much as I’d like to think he didn’t mean it to come out in the context that it did, I’m trying
to give him the benifit of the doubt, but that doesn’t seem to help the fact that I want to smack him up side the head!
What the hell was he thinking!!!
Firstly if he were my friend and he said those things about me I’d be one, really hurt that someone who was my friend would publicly attack me
like that. Considering their job and how publisity can make or brake someone in the buisness it was a low blow.
Secondly I’d be sooooo pissed right now!
That was uncool Mr Eads, Uncool!
Keeping the Faith Alive,
Poppie x x x.
well done eads you stupit idiot.
first you always say how much of a family the cast was and not you are stabing them in the back.
I mean i get that jorja can be insecure and a bit of a diva but she is a really sweet person to and has done so much better of a job making sara a real person than you have mad nick.
and as for the back stab you delivert billy how could you say something like that about someone that mad you that made that show.
Realy i hoped that some day billy and jorja would come back but i seriously thought that if some one you think of as your friend threats you like that.
and for nick being so good and the superhero of the show i dont think so buddy.sara was the hero with her backround and her effort and being ther on your day of and caring about a bear that has been killed.
i was already thinking about stop watching csi and now i will most likely
I have a strong feeling he wasn’t mis-quoted, but from the interviews I’ve read (a lot fewer than the Jorja ones, I admit), George has often put his foot in his mouth. Which sucks for him, and it’s bad publicity for CSI, which could use a boost. I’ll still watch the show, mind you, but ooof, if he talks like this, it may explain why they were so quick to fire him in ’04, and why they snagged Laurence Fishburne to be the ‘male lead’ so fast.
I think people should take a huge chill pill. Nothing George said was really that bad and it would be hardly surprising for anybody in show business to act insecure or diva-ish, or both. Even beloved Jorja. I really think she is great, but her great qualities — her work for charities and causes she cares about, her sweet personality, etc. — doesn’t remove the possibility of being able to act insecure or like a diva. All he said is that Lauren doesn’t act like that and it’s nice for him to work with her (Lauren). I think to talk about HIS issues (putting his foot in his mouth, perhaps overshooting his status as the “lead”) is in poor taste. Let it all go. They are all human (George, Jorja, Billy, etc.). Sometimes they’re going to say things they shouldn’t have.
If you can find me one article (other than Michael Ausiello’s or the NY Post) that implies that Jorja has ever been a diva (or diva-ish), you’re a better net detective than I am. This makes two interviews (TV Guide and AOL) where george has implied he’s ‘better’ that Jorja and Billy. Saying things like HE doesn’t leave his fans and so on makes you really sit back and wonder is George right, or is he shooting off at the mouth. What George said was surprising because no one has ever said that about Jorja Fox before. (Except Michael Ausiello, who seems to hate her for some reason and is allergic to post anything nice about her, ever, and the NY Post, which is a gossip rag).
Of course, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones George, you’re an actor too! 🙂
And fans? Well … Fans are obsessive, it’s their nature, and they’re going to be hot-headed and impetuous. Nothing that anyone posted here was offensive (except one post I deleted) and right now, everyone seems to be upset that George implied Jorja was hard to work with and a diva. URL of the site is jorjafox.net, so yeah, this is the place to do it. Now if they go to GeorgeEads.net and call him names, well I’m disappointed in the fans who would do that and I apologize for that behavior. But to claim to be hurt and offended here? This is the safe place to be able to rant about that sort of thing 🙂
Of course, elaine, you’re totally welcome to be here too! I greatly appreciate folks who will take the opposing view and do it with well written prose. Thank you for visiting 🙂
Ipstenu, first off thankyou so very much for this wonderful site. I have visited it everyday to see anything new on Jorja. Regarding this current topic, I am in total agreement with most of the above statements. Given that Jorja stood by Mr. Eads in 2004, showing what a true friend represents (Jorja was hired back before Eads was but waited until Eads was rehired before rejoining the show from what I understand and read) Jorja deserves a huge apology from her “friend” Eads. I have never seen Jorja as a diva. I see Jorja only as a kind and compassionate individual. And a bit shy. Such qualities run contrary with a diva, George. And George, all individuals have some form of insecurity-it is what you call being human. I highly recommend for your career sake and friendships with Billy, Jorja and Gary to clarify your statements. I used to like watching you on TV. But after this arrogant and abusive remark, no more.
I think those comments are overblow. I think people are overreacting and I’m very sure Jorja will take these comment with a grain of salt.
She knows George better than even his fans do, so she’ll be fine with it. I’m sure she knows he didn’t intend to call her a DIVA.
Maybe George suffers from Bushism complex. 😛
I have no doubt Jorja knows George better than we do, yes. However, when someone speaks in a public manner of someone in such a demeaning/critical manner, I highly question the loyalty of a friend from such an action. As someone who supports Jorja and wishes her total joy in life, I find such a public statement made by her “friend” totally wrong. It casts her in a bad light in the public forum, giving the public audience a negative view of her which people would take as gospel truth. If someone was in the entertainment field, he/she would understand such statements can be extremely detrimental to someone. So no, these comments are not overblown. If George Eads never intended to demean his friends, why doesn’t he make a retraction? He made a foolish statement in a public forum. He can make a public retraction.
To answer an email publicly (and I emailed back) : Yes, I did word the title of the post this way to catch people’s attention and make them think. It’s called ‘Building Web Traffic’ folks! If you see a blog post that makes you look twice, then I’ve done my job 🙂 I just make sure it’s always about Jorja one way or the other.
I take his comments with a grain of salt, but I am looking at George with a raised eyebrow now. Once is whatever. Twice is a habit.
I, too am hoping George did not mean it in the rude context I first read it as. I’m hoping he was just trying to get across that Lauren isn’t a diva or insecure….but still, George is a seasoned enough actor that he should have known to word his answer better!
I am thinking along the line of Melody. Maybe, he did not mean it the way is being read.
If he had said, for example: ‘I miss Jorja, but We’re lucky to have [Lauren Lee Smith], not being a diva, not being insecure, just doing a good job… ‘ I think it would have started to sound different already.
The choice of using 2 words like ‘diva’ and ‘insecure’, that could be seen as opposites somehow, makes me think he just wanted to pay a compliment to the new cast member. Maybe all he meant was ‘that he misses Jorja, but, at least, despite the loss, they have a new cast member who is neither a diva nor insecure, as lots of Holliwood people are (not meaning Jorja)’.
Still sounds a bit big-headed, but I also believe that, being this a ‘Jorja website’, if the same comments had come from her, we would be all ready to read them differently, so I am going to believe that George was just trying to sound as cool as possible towards his new mates with no offence intended to anyone.
I may as well be wrong, though…. 🙂
Speaking only for myself, if Jorja had said that, the subject of this post would be ‘Jorja called George a diva? Oh no!’ and would have been a little scathing towards that end. I may like Jorja a lot as an actress, but I don’t give her a free pass to do whatever. I waited a day before posting this because I wanted to give it some research and though. Calling Jorja a diva aside, George was pretty disparaging to Billy and Gary, and it doesn’t look nice.
Saying ‘No offense to Joe, but …’ is kind of like saying ‘I don’t mean to be an asshole, but…’ It’s not something I can take at face value. Offense was intended, assholery was intended. Admit that and move on.
I’d like to think that Eads was saying Smith is not a diva, not that Jorja is one. I think he just phrased it awkwardly. Maybe he is trying to make the new girl feel welcomed. I can’t see why, as she is not an addition to the cast but a subtraction. She has the personality of wet cardboard. At least that Ronnie Lake character had some spark. Smith is the first really bad casting choice in the history of CSI. And that includes bit parts and minor characters.
From all that I can tell, George and Jorja are good friends and have nothing but kind words to say about each other. Whenever they appear at public events, George is always stealing up and giving Jorja a big kiss on the cheek. I don’t think he would do that if he thought she was a diva. There’s an extra on the DVD called “So Long Sara Sidle”. Watch that and you will have no doubt.
He technically didn’t say anything very wrong.He just he personally found it uncomfortable with all the ‘who’s going to leave’ tension.It’s just like when we’re watching the show and all we’re sad because Sara is going to leave or Warrick is killed.Besides you guys missed all the awesome things he said about his coworkers!
I agree with Boston. Maybe George is hurt and reacting and I don’t mean to all the Jorja Fox fanmail that CSI will still get. I do love Showbusiness.
You know, after rereading his full statement, I think George was a jerk for saying Billy and Gary were just phoning it in toward the end of their character arcs. Was Billy slacking during For Warrick? The Happy Place? One To Go? I didn’t see any evidence of that on screen in the last season, or in any of the previous episodes. I think Petersen is a magnificent actor, who gave 100% every time. A real pro. Wish I could say the same for George. Gary, we all know, was dealing with a bad drug problem, that must have affected him. But since his character was spiraling at the same time, I can’t fault his performances either.
As for George saying he deserved to be the lead, well that’s bull too. That’s like saying he deserved to be class president because he had perfect attendance. Just showing up doesn’t make you a hero. I think his ego is getting inflated.
I can’t watch the show without Grissom or Sara or Warrick. It doesn’t hold my interest. Grissom was the show, the only lead, the leader. Sara was the heart and Warrick the guts. Without a head or a heart or guts, it’s DOA.
I agee that William Peterson is an amazing actor and he Gary and Jorja brought such strength to their characters down the years. No one can doubt that but this is now and the remarks he made about how people behave when they are leaving are personal to him and he really should not have done that in a public forum.Acting is a precarious profession at the best of times but now things are worse and I just don’t understand why he would demean a fellow actor in that way much less insult a woman!
The author may have edited George’s quotes together to stir trouble. The only way we’d really know is if we saw a videotape of the full interview, without cuts. Written interviews can be slanted any way the writer wants and I find these foot in the mouth quotes people feel George has made are often print interviews.
Give him the benefit of the doubt.
If there was a real problem between George and Jorja, he wouldn’t have said he missed her.
He’s more often stated how fond he is of her and how cute she is than she’s said about him.
Ok, it’s all it is: just words, black letters on a white background and we all know what journalists like doing with material from interviews. BUT, no matter how much the things George Eads said might have been changed/manipulated, IMHO he should have said rather less than more, not for the professional “we let our Ego at home” thing, it is a little bit about “office politics” and tact.
It is ok to say something like: “well the show needed new ideas”, but it’s not ok to say something that sounds like open negative critiqe about former colleagues, unless he really wants to kind of damage them. Ok, his words won’t have that weight. Maybe he should have talked it out with the ones he had issues with instead of coming out about it now, now when it doesnt help the matter anymore.
What was this about anyway? People’s behaviour changes when they are about to leave a job. Oh wow George I never knew that! Then someone is insecure and has a bit of temprement. Are we talking about half the westen world here or what? Thirteen hour days, a lot of it spent sitting around and this actor gets a bit irritated. I guess a few people are fed up with his little foibles to. I adore Jorja but if she got a bit hurt by this we will never know and she is perfectly able to stand up for herself in that wonderful dry way of hers which is so cheering. Maybe she will think there are more important things to concentrate on.
Comments have been deleted – As a reminder, folks, this is a website about Jorja Fox. You can be a detractor, but insults aren’t welcome. If you don’t know how to civilly comment against something, please don’t post.
Ipstenu — What I said in response to another fan’s (admittedly rude) comment was NOT offensive and I am quite offended that you felt the need to delete my comment. If this site is for Jorja FANS, it should be a place where we CAN speak truthfully, even to each other. I was not uncivil to the other “fan” and feel you have WAY overstepped your role as “moderator”!
I deleted your comment because without the comment you were replying to, it made no sense and I thought it would be better to just remove the conversational thread. Without the preceeding comments, yours (and others) would beg the questions ‘who were they arguing with’ etc etc, and then we’d be in a vicious circle as to arguing about each other instead of talking about Jorja.
No offense to you was intended (or frankly to the other posts that may have been offensive).
And FWIW, no offense is taken from your comment. I appreciate the criticism, and in the future, I’ll make sure I better explain why the non-offensive posts get removed as well! You had a very good point!
How do you delete something you wish you had just not said???
Elaine i think you need to hold back on your comments…i feel Ipstenu is a GREAT moderator. This is evident in the success of the site, if you don’t like it then quite frankly go elsewhere…..
Maria — My comment that I want to know how to delete something should tell you that I’ve already re-thought what I said. The unfortunate thing about email, blogging, the web, etc. is that it tempts people to say things they would normally hold back (at least intially). I DO stand by what I originally said (which is no longer in this thread and which was NOT, in any way, derogative toward Jorja). I also still agree with my statement that we should be able to be frank with one another. That much said, I do wish I had not responded to Ipstenu’s choice to delete the comments, and it is THAT comment that I wish I could delete. I agree that she is a good moderator; I also think we should be able to say what we think (as long as we are not crude to each other and certainly as long as we are not disrespectful toward Jorja).
Hope everybody doesn’t totally hate me. Though since none of you know me, I probably should not even care…another weird thing about the internet!!
It’s okay, everyone. I didn’t take elaine’s comments as an attack and I don’t hate any of you 🙂 We should be able to be frank, but that’s a very iffy, squidgy line between frankness and the ‘I don’t mean to be an asshole, but…’ where I feel, yeah, you did mean to be an asshole.
My (personal) number one internet rule is ‘Don’t be a dick’ and number two is ‘If you feel angry, DON’T POST!’
I moved the comment policy to just below the smilies, hopefully so people see them and remember to be cool to each other. The site charter starts with this: The charter of JFO is a respectful place to post news and discuss Jorja Fox, her roles and her life. We ask that you respect your fellow fans and their opinions.
We can do that, right? 🙂
Just a comment — toward nobody in particular. It is not lost on me how ironic (and in some ways, hilarious) this whole exchange has been. (smiling and a bit embarrassed) This whole exchange about rudeness between “fellow fans” is taking place in a blog about whether or not one star was rude to another. …As I said much earlier in this thread, people are human and sometimes say things they shouldn’t have. (I hope the original poster, who posted something FAR RUDER than I ever did — Ipstenu, you DO know that — feels the same way! 😉
I do feel the same way 8) George is rather notable for speaking without thinking, which is mostly where my reactions lie ‘Oh George, again? Really?’ But you have to say it like the exasperated mom who’s looking at her son loosing his retainer for the umpteenth time.
I think I’m going to call this whole thing DivaGate. It was an entirely intentional action of mine to post it in this polarizing way. Sometimes we need to get riled up in order to look at ourselves (and our fandom) with new eyes.
For example, if Jorja had said this, we’d all be shocked, and while some people would, certainly, make all sorts of excuses for her, others would have to re-evaluate their fan-faith in her. And that is worth the pause and the reading of the article.