Odds & Ends: T.I., Journey’s Deen Castronovo, Luke Bryan

T.I. shared his views regarding female presidential candidates while being interviewed on DJ Whoo Kid’s SiriusXM “Whoolywood Shuffle” program.  A video of the interview was posted Monday on YouTube.

“Not to be sexist, but I can’t vote for the leader of the free world to be a woman,” T.I. said, according to Rolling Stone.  “Just because, ever other position that exists, I think a woman could do well.  But, the president?  It’s kinda like, I just know that women make rash decisions emotionally – they make very permanent, cemented decisions – and then later, it’s kind of like it didn’t happen, or they didn’t mean for it to happen.”

But it didn’t stop there.

“The world ain’t ready yet,” T.I. added.  “I think you might be able to get the Lock Ness Monster elected before [a woman].  It’s not right, but I’m just saying.”

As you can probably guess, T.I.’s comments offended more than a few people and resulted in a huge heaping plate of bad press dumped into his lap.  Today he took to Twitter to walk back his remarks.  “My comments about women running for president were unequivocally insensitive and wrong,” T.I. tweeted.  “I sincerely apologize to everyone I offended.”

Meanwhile, Rolling Stone reports that the original video of T.I.’s interview that was posted on YouTube has since been made private.  But don’t worry.  There are plenty of copies to go around for everyone.

An Oregon judge sentenced Journey drummer Deen Castronovo to four years of probation plus counseling after the drummer pleaded guilty to domestic violence charges.

Based on court records, The Oregonian/Oregon Live reports that Salem, Ore., resident Castronovo “pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of fourth-degree domestic violence assault, two counts of domestic violence menacing, one count of unlawful use of a weapon and one count of coercion.”

Castronovo’s legal problems began when he was arrested June 14 at a Salem, Ore., home.  By the end of June, Castronovo had been released on bail and ordered to keep his distance from the female victim.  However, repeated contacts, including texting the victim 122 times and calling her 35 times, resulted in a longer stay behind bars.

A total of 15 charges were made against Castronovo.  Nine charges, including ones for rape and sex abuse, were dismissed and the musician pleaded guilty to the remaining six charges.  In addition to sentencing him to four years of probation, Judge James L. Rhoades ordered that Castronovo undergo counseling for drug abuse and domestic violence offenders.

Luke Bryan is offering refunds to fans based on the amount of time they spent at his concert at the Talon Winery in Louisville, Ky., Oct. 6.

Rain coupled with a two-lane access road resulted in  “miles-long vehicle backups,” according to the Lexington Herald Leader/Kentucky.com.  Some people parked and walked to the site while others took their chances and either arrived late for the show or missed it entirely.  Aware of the problem, Bryan delayed his performance for approximately one hour to give fans more time get to the venue.

But it all boiled down to access, or lack thereof.

“It’s just 20,000-plus people on a two-lane road,” Lt. Andrew Daugherty told Lexington Herald Leader/Kentucky.com.  “There’s only one way in.”

Now Bryan is making it up to fans. 

“Thank you for your patience regarding the Lexington, KY Farm Tour Show,” reads a message posted on Bryan’s website. “If you were unable to attend the show due to traffic, or your ticket was scanned after 9:30 PM that night, we will be accepting refund requests until Friday 10/16 at 6:00 PM Central. Please send any requests and inquiries to [email protected].”