http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcjpGlAuoDwBernie Sanders' Campaign Drops Tommy Chong as Intro Speaker Hours Before L.A. Rally
THR - By Ryan Parker
"It was an insult," the comic actor says.Tommy Chong is in disbelief after he was disinvited by the Bernie Sanders campaign from introducing the presidential hopeful hours before a rally in East Los Angeles.
The iconic comic actor and outspoken marijuana advocate tells The Hollywood Reporter that the Sanders campaign was happy to have his endorsement months back, but when it came time for the two men to appear in public together, someone got "cold feet," he says.
"It's lip service to get the votes, but they don't want to endorse what I stand for and what I've stood for all my professional career," Chong said right after he was uninvited to the rally. "It was an insult."
In a email to THR, a Sanders spokesman said, "We appreciate his support but a scheduling issue came up."
Chong, who was invited on Sunday to Sanders' noon rally in Lincoln Park, says he is sure the campaign put distance between himself and Sanders over the marijuana issue, calling the move a "weakness" by the Sanders' camp. He joked that his hair and makeup were done for nothing.
Chong says he already did a radio interview early Monday morning talking about how excited he was to introduce his candidate.
"Now I'm going to look like a fool, like one of those guys who starts bragging about something that isn't true," he tells THR. "And I don't like that because my endorsement means a lot because of what I have gone through and what the whole [marijuana] culture has gone through."
In January, Chong released his endorsement video, made by the Grassroots Community, in which he praised Sanders' positions on numerous issues, including the legalization of marijuana.
Chong later sent out an additional tweet about the situation.
Hope to continue my support, reschedule, and continue activism, political change and promoting peace anywhere possible.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bernie-sanders-campaign-drops-tommy-896752http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8aQ04dyRAM
