The Current Mike Portnoy Social Media Debacle...

[Gruno]

SOURCE

Former DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy, who is currently touring Europe with THE NEAL MORSE BAND, has slammed the staff at the Whittington Hospital in London, England for allegedly refusing to see him quickly enough so that he could make it in time to the Islington Assembly Hall, where the group is scheduled to perform tonight.

In a post on his Facebook page, Portnoy wrote: "A very special NO THANKS to the staff at the Whittington Hospital for NOT seeing me regardless of telling them that there is an audience waiting for our show to begin... I finally left withOUT seeing a doctor in order to make tonight's show... I have no idea how the hell I'm going to make it through this show...I can't even stand up or lift my arms... : ("

After one person responded to Portnoy's Facebook post by saying, "Not to be rude, but if someone was dying, I'd hope they didn't move you to the front of the line just to get you to a show. Very narcissistic thinking here," Portnoy replied: "Keep 'em coming! Can't wait for everyone to see what an idiot you are before I ban you."

A Portnoy fan who works at the Whittington Hospital later also responded to Mike's posting. He wrote: I'm a doctor that works at the Whittington Hospital in London. I wasn't working in the [Accident & Emergency] department tonight, however. I am sorry to hear of your plight.

"As much as I'd jump at the opportunity to help you if I actually was on call tonight, please try to understand. Us healthcare professionals don't want anyone to wait or suffer at all. However, we encounter life-threatening conditions every hour, sometimes every minute, that stop us from seeing others that may be slightly less unwell, as quickly as we'd like.

"The NHS is under-financed, understaffed, overworked. We do have to economise our resources.

"With all the respect I have for you, it hurts when one of my idols insults an organisation I work very hard for.

"Waiting sucks, I know, but dying patients suck even more.

"I sincerely hope you feel better and that the show goes well tonight. Gutted to be missing out due to a prior engagement. Rock on, though. [I] love the new Neal Morse album."

Portnoy apologized to fans earlier in the day for missing this evening's VIP meet-and-greet. He explained: "I'm extremely sick and on my way to the hospital right now... Hopefully we can still pull off tonight's show without a hitch."

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I checked some of the messages on Mike's FaceBook page. Ouch! He's getting some nasty comments…

FaceBook Source



It will be interesting to see how he comes out of this one.

[mnprogger]

Urgent Care....

[Progatron]

If there was any sense of 'entitlement' on Mike's part, it was on behalf of the fans who would have been extremely disappointed had the show been cancelled. The guy was clearly having a horrible day. Sick enough to seek medical attention, an ambulance that ran out of gas on the way to the hospital(!), missing the meet-and-greet, concern and worry over his ability to perform, and all the while missing his son's sixteenth birthday. So yeah, while his situation was not enough to put him ahead in the line over people with more serious medical issues (the hospital was in the right here IMO), he is a human being and he griped about it - as we all do from time to time. Fortunately for us, our complaints are not scrutinized and attacked by a million clueless keyboard warriors. Some of those people are an unbelievable disgrace.

[Digital_Man]

Hey Mike, ever hear of cancelling a show? Your health comes first! As for the fans being disappointed I'm sure they'll get over it.

[Adrian]

Wow.

I've defended Mike through a lot of controversial things he's said and done, but this episode just reeks of do-you-know-who-I-am entitlement. Very unbecoming.

Yeah, I get it. You're sick, you've got a job to do, and you want some help. Unfortunately, that's not as important as the people in line in front of you who may be dealing with a life-threatening condition.

Was it not possible to postpone or cancel the show, or to get a stand-in on drums?

[ronmac]

Fortunately for us, our complaints are not scrutinized and attacked by a million clueless keyboard warriors.

Seriously?

If we went online and posted it to the world, we would face the same well-deserved criticism. Remember, there are reasons; and there are excuses. He had reasons to act like a spoiled child. But, he had no excuses.

It's wise not to try defending the indefensible.

[Sean]

Thanks to all of the kind understanding people that sent well wishes & positive vibes my way yesterday…it was one of the worst days of my life...sadly, still not feeling much better today, but the show must go on!

And to the rest of you ---> 1.jpg

MP on his FB page today...

[ForeverAutumn]

...and too busy slamming hard working doctors and nurses for not dropping everything else that they are doing and running to help the great and powerful Mike Portnoy.

I'm surprised he was able to fit his ego through the hospital doors.

[Adrian]

"Thanks to all of the kind understanding people that sent well wishes & positive vibes my way yesterday…it was one of the worst days of my life...sadly, still not feeling much better today, but the show must go on! "

Wow. Sad to see he doesn't get why people are upset with him. No one wishes the guy ill. It's just that some of us understand that sore arms aren't as important to doctors as a heart attack.

As someone who's been dealing with a mystery illness for almost six months, I have very little sympathy for Mike's predicament. Hell, I have a full-time job and a 3-year-old to take care of, and some days it's an effort to put one foot in front of the other. I wish I could go to a doctor and get a magic cure, but sometimes life isn't fair.

Does he not understand that he could have gone to a private hospital if he wanted immediate treatment?

He really needs to reel in the ego here.

[Obscured]

and all the while missing his son's sixteenth birthday.

Well he had to know this was going to happen regardless, right?

[Progatron]

Seriously?

If we went online and posted it to the world, we would face the same well-deserved criticism.

Yes, seriously.

And no we wouldn't. I don't know how popular you are on social media, but personally I might garner a few responses, not the endless snowballing pack-hound abuse that he got. And yes, before anyone bothers, he knows he has millions of followers, and he should learn to keep his mouth shut, but the guy's a human being. Again, as I pointed out, the hospital was in the right here: Of *course* others come first in a situation like this. What I'm reacting to are the unbelievable comments I'm seeing posted on his facebook page. I once complained online about the people who bring their kids to Costco on a busy Saturday, making it even worse, and I got a few "Gee, sucks to be you" and "Get over it" type comments from parents of young children. Fair enough, I was just whining after a bad day, and I shouldn't have - it wasn't that important or that bad. But if you think "Fucking miserable Jew should just kill himself next time" is an acceptable response, which I doubt you do, I think you'll see where I'm coming from here.

[Adrian]

It's not just an innocuous "kids at Costco" type of comment, though. It's the implied sense of entitlement, apparently feeling that because he was Mike Portnoy and had a show to play, somebody should have taken a few minutes to jump in and take a look at him -- showing both a lack of understanding of how the priority system works in English health care, and a lack of concern for those ahead of him in line who may have had more pressing medical needs. Sorry that the overworked doctors and nurses couldn't drop what they were doing to take care of YOU, Mike. Sheesh! Again, if he wanted immediate care, he should have gone to a private hospital. He deserves all the criticism he's getting.

[Vic2012]

What exactly is Mike's ailment anyway? Have they said what it is?

[Jubal]

This fiasco will happen here in the U.S in a few short years if Obamacare is not repealed. There will be a major shortage of health care professionals and hospiltals will be understaffed and staff will be underpaid.

[JKL2000]

But what do you and Portnoy expect when he's set up a portal through which ANYONE with internet access can read what he writes and respond to it, and then he posts something like that? You and I wouldn't get that response for two reasons: 1) We're not widely known and 2) We don't have a portal like that set up inviting comments from everyone in the world.

I don't know what his illness was, but if it kept him from moving his arms, being a drummer he should have abandoned all hope of performing that night and resigned himself to spending a long time at the public hospital since that's where he went (or where the ambulance needed to take him). As someone pointed out, if time was of the utmost he should have gone about getting care another way.

[Progatron]

It's not just an innocuous "kids at Costco" type of comment, though. It's the implied sense of entitlement, apparently feeling that because he was Mike Portnoy and had a show to play, somebody should have taken a few minutes to jump in and take a look at him -- showing both a lack of understanding of how the priority system works in English health care, and a lack of concern for those ahead of him in line who may have had more pressing medical needs.

Yes, I understand, and while Mike needs to learn that he can't jump the line, I'm still blown away by the mean-spirited responses I've seen. I think it's blown just a tad out of proportion when people begin posting comments like the one I mentioned above.

[Scott Bails]

I'm with Progatron here. Portnoy may have been out of line, but it's pretty clear that he was angry, frustrated, and disappointed at the idea of cancelling a show or not being able to give 100%. I can't see criticizing that.

[JKL2000]

I can't read all the comments - there are way too many -- but people posting criticism of hi religious background, etc. are simply trolls who heard about what was going on, not fans.

If I were him and was going to post what he did I'd first deactivate my Facebook page (for a couple of weeks at least) and post my whinge on my web site (with no comments allowed). It's his fault for wanting and enabling unfettered interactivity. It's completely unnecessary.

[JJ88]

I think if you need to have a rant, which we all do, keep it off the internet- people managed to do that before. It's a bit much to moan about people moaning about your moaning (so to speak). IMHO that initial comment does come off as being petulant, the response doesn't surprise me.

[JKL2000]

They didn't listen to his Agenda!

Someone needs to get actor Michael Shannon to do a dramatic reading of Portnoy's rant.

[Progatron]

I can see the points being made by the people here. I think I was initially just very turned off by the outrageous responses on the facebook page. If I was having a shit day and ranted about something, no matter if I was in the wrong or not, I don't feel I would ever deserve being told I should kill myself.

Anyway, maybe Mike will learn one day to not open himself up to stuff like this.

[ronmac]

Yes, seriously.

And no we wouldn't. I don't know how popular you are on social media, but personally I might garner a few responses, not the endless snowballing pack-hound abuse that he got. ....

Your argument is one of mere scale. My point is that, if any of us did the same thing, we would face the same proportion of well-deserved criticism from those who receive it. The fact that he has millions of followers magnifies the foolishness of publicly making such stupid comments. He should know better.

And, yes, the more who hear it, the more crackpots. Stupidity is everywhere in all forms.

[Esoteric]

It was a post in very poor taste and to be honest the tour manager should have just paid up and got a private doctor over to decide if it was something that really needed A&E or was just a muscular thing etc or if the event needed postponing. My son was born at the Whiitington, it's an inner city state hospital in a very mixed area and deals with a lot of crap. No one is saying that he shouldn't be seen and clearly had an issue, it's just to moan you haven't had priority isn't good form as he would have been assessed when he first got there. Mind you having heard Neil Morses crew talking amongst each other at an event in England a few years ago, they were too busy being loud and massaging their egos. Sorry guys, I know loads of you love them, but I wasn't impressed , I guess they were very 'non british'

[JKL2000]

Anyway, maybe Mike will learn one day to not open himself up to stuff like this.

Yeah, that's what really needs to happen. I think the musos and celebs who stay away from sharing stuff on the internet without a publicist's help are wisest - Portnoy gets himself into a lot of this kind of trouble and he could easily avoid it.

[progeezer]

It was a post in very poor taste and to be honest the tour manager should have just paid up and got a private doctor over to decide if it was something that really needed A&E or was just a muscular thing etc or if the event needed postponing. My son was born at the Whiitington, it's an inner city state hospital in a very mixed area and deals with a lot of crap. No one is saying that he shouldn't be seen and clearly had an issue, it's just to moan you haven't had priority isn't good form as he would have been assessed when he first got there. Mind you having heard Neil Morses crew talking amongst each other at an event in England a few years ago, they were too busy being loud and massaging their egos. Sorry guys, I know loads of you love them, but I wasn't impressed , I guess they were very 'non british'

Not that I disagree with you, Vicky, because I don't, but I've personally over my 55 years of performing and attending shows been around many bands from the UK who are certainly anything but humble.