22 September 2023 , 16:45
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Busted star James Bourne has been slammed online for his "rude behaviour" towards fans at a meet and greet.
The singer-songwriter, 40, appeared uninterested when the band met with fans for a signing. Busted are currently on a UK tour, as they mark 20 years together as a group. They initially reunited in 2015, but have come back with a 15-show tour as well as a new album featuring reworks of all their classic hits to celebrate two decades in the industry.
However, some fans have been left disappointed with James' lack of interaction with fans on the tour. Taking to TikTok, one fan shared their encounter with the band at a signing. Matt Willis was at the start of the table, where fans passed along their merchandise to be signed. He said hello to the fans, and thanked them for watching his recent documentary.
Charlie Simpson also said hi to the fan, and gave her a compliment on her hair while writing his signature. James was at the end of the table and as the fan-filmed herself standing in front of him, he picked up his mobile phone. He signed the merch but continued to look at his phone and didn't engage with the fan. The post sparked comments about James' behaviour towards the fans, as the poster said: "Gutted I couldn’t get a photo with them but was amazing to meet them."
While one person commented: "So many videos of James like this at these signings. Makes me sad." The original poster replied: "He was really tired but told us he had a nap before sound check he was lovely," but someone else quipped: "Tiredness isn’t an excuse to be rude to people who have supported and gotten you to where you are." Another added: "Same. Only Matt spoke to me. hopefully next time they'll all interact."
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A fan commented: "If James is like this for me I will cry, he was honestly so nice last time I met him!" While another wrote: "I went to a Busted signing when I was about 12 and James was honestly exactly the same back then! There must be something about this he doesn’t enjoy!" Meanwhile, another typed: "James is really starting to annoy me, he doesn't seem happy at all to be on tour or at the signings." "James with the sh***y attitude," fumed another.
But some leapt to James' defence, with one writing: "It's a lot to do every day, I can't believe the long days, the signings, then the soundcheck, then the actual show and after shows on top of moving around." A second joked: "James is a vibe," with a laughing emoji.
Earlier this year, Busted sat down with The Mirror where they explained why this comeback tour is going to be different. Matt said: "I don't think Busted fans have had this from us yet. They haven't had a real celebration of Busted, if you're a Busted fan you're gonna wanna see this." James added: "The whole Pigs Can Fly [tour] the whole moment was overshadowed by, 'Oh they're doing it, they're getting back together.'"
"The weirdness has gone, we've broken the ice," Charlie interjected before James added: "The awkwardness has gone and we get to come back for our 20th anniversary in the way we would like to do it. We were talking about doing it a certain way and I think we all agreed in the end that it was better to plan it properly, not rush it. That's why arguably we're a year late but I think it's better to be do it in the correct way, just a bit later."