Toby Keith’s Least Favorite Actor

Don’t invite Toby Keith and actor Ethan Hawke to the same party anytime soon.

The country star is reportedly ticked off about Hawke’s homage to Kris Kristofferson in Rolling Stone. The actor/writer details a backstage incident that supposedly took place six years ago at a 2003 Willie Nelson b-day concert at Madison Square Garden where an unidentified country singer allegedly told Kristofferson, “None of that lefty [expletive] out there tonight, Kris.”

Hawke describes the country singer as having “a monster hit about bombing America’s enemies back into the stone age,” a supposed reference to Keith’s “Courtesy Of The Red, White & Blue (The Angry American).” According to Hawke’s account, the former U.S. Army Airborne Ranger took exception and asked the singer if he had ever served in the military.

“Have you ever killed another man? Huh? Have you ever taken another man’s life and then cashed the check your country gave you for doing it?” Kristofferson allegedly said. “No, you have not, so shut the [expletive] up. You don’t know what the hell you are talking about.”

While backstage at the Academy of Country Music Awards April 5, Keith insisted that Hawke’s account wasn’t true, and that the actor did not name Keith because he didn’t want to have to face him later.

“I don’t know Ethan Hawke. Ethan Hawke wanted to do some kind of superficial Rolling Stone article. And he did everything he could to make his story the greatest story ever in Rolling Stone,” Keith said. “And it was a fictitious [expletive] lie. O.K.?”

The country singer was also teed off at the Tennessean’s Peter Cooper, who wrote about the Hawke article then asked Keith about it backstage.

Back in 2003, Keith made hay with the Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines over her criticism of President George Bush. However, he was and still is a registered Democrat and supported Barack Obama in the latest presidential election.

Kristofferson didn’t give Hawke’s account much support.

“I would like to state for the record that I am friends with Ethan Hawke, Toby Keith and Tennessean reporter Peter Cooper,” Kristofferson said in a statement. “Although I do not remember the events at Willie’s birthday party as reported in Rolling Stone, what does it matter?

“That was six years ago. I spoke to Ethan before I put out my statement and thanked him for the beautiful story he wrote for Rolling Stone and I also told him I did not recall the incident at Willie’s birthday party. This is the last statement I will put out about this nonsense.”

A Rolling Stone representative said the magazine stands behind Hawke’s account.