Bon Jovi star Richie Sambora 'kicked off world tour due to substance abuse issues' - Daily Mail

Sunday, April 7, 2013

PUBLISHED: 19:41 EST, 6 April 2013 | UPDATED: 19:41 EST, 6 April 2013

Richie Sambora is reported to have been temporarily kicked out of Bon Jovi.

New information challenges initial reports that the 53-year-old guitarist had quit the band over a financial dispute with lead singer Jon Bon Jovi.

According to the New York Post , Jon had to force his longtime songwriting partner off their world tour due to substance abuse issues.

Feuding: Richie Sambora (L) and Jon Bon Jovi (R) on stage together during the opening night of their Because We Can Tour at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C., in February

After Sambora failed to join his bandmates on stage in Canada on Tuesday night, the band's website confirmed he bowed out of their current tour because of 'personal issues'.

The guitarist was replaced by Theofilos 'Phil X' Xenidis, who had served as proxy during Samboraâ€™s second visit to rehab in 2011.

A source told the New York Post: 'Jon has been trying to get rid of him. He drinks constantly and has a stream of Hollywood bimbos around all the time.'

Apparently it was the lead singer's wife, Dorothea Hurley, who had urged the forced expulsion.

Jon reportedly wanted to keep the tour a completely sober environment, but Sambora is said to be more than resistant to the clean living.

'He told me that he didnâ€™t believe in rehab,' the insider revealed. 'He really is a hard partier, and so are the women he hangs out with.'

Initial reports had told a very different story.

In the wars: According to the New York Post, Jon had to force his longtime songwriting partner off their world tour due to substance abuse issues

According to TMZ the absence was allegedly due to a war over money between Jon and his longtime songwriting partner.

A source directly connected to the It's My Life singer told the website: 'It's a classic Jagger/Richards blowup.'

The reference was to the financial tensions between the Rolling Stones songwriting duo in the 1980s that led to a decades long feud.

The insider also stated that Jon and Sambora have been experiencing difficulties in their relationship for many years now, and the current breakup had been a long time coming.

The source revealed that the guitarist had grown tired of Jon constantly 'belittling' him in front of other people.

A statement on the band's website read: 'Due to personal issues, Richie Sambora will not be performing on this upcoming leg. All shows will go on as scheduled.'Â Â

After taking to the stage late, Jon told the crowd: 'I had two choices - pack up and go home or give you everything I got.

'Richie Sambora won't be performing for a while. If there's ever a night I need you, it's tonight, Calgary!'

His sudden departure is made even more surprising as the band's international tour only began in February.

It is scheduled to snake across the world, seeing the band perform in Europe, South America and South Africa before drawing to a close in October back in the band's home country of America.

Downtime: Sambora with daughter Ava in Calabasas, California, in July 2012

But Sambora - who has battled alcohol addiction in the past - has been spending his newly acquired downtime with his daughter Ava, 15.

The father-daughter duo enjoyed a trip to Hawaii just last week - painting a slightly different picture than these new rumours that the rock icon had taken his leave of absence due to substance abuse.

In 2011, Sambora was left out of dates on the band's touring schedule to attend rehab but sources close to him insist he is still clean.