Editorial: Let freedom ring on stage

Tuesday, July 20, 2004 | 8:41 a.m.

Is there an entertainer anywhere in the world who allows a concert or public performance to pass without making a political statement? We're sure the answer is yes, but it's tempting to say no. The intermingling of politics and entertainment has a long history, one that surely predates all of our lifetimes. Marlon Brando, Lenny Bruce, Bono, John Lennon, Charlie Daniels, Red Skelton, Ted Nugent, the Dixie Chicks, Lee Greenwood, Joan Baez -- the list of entertainers who have used their time in the limelight to express political opinions is inexhaustible. It's so expected of entertainers that rarely anymore does it generate much reaction. Saturday night at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, however, Linda Ronstadt was booted out of the place and told to never come back after expressing support for filmmaker Michael Moore, who she said "is someone wh o cares about this country deeply and is trying to help."

Ronstadt is that rare entertainer who has achieved stardom in many musical genres, including folk, rock, country, Latin, Broadway and jazz over the past four decades. As a result, her fans are diverse in terms of age and musical tastes, and, as demonstrated Saturday night, in terms of politics as well. Hundreds of them cheered her remarks about Moore, whose current film "Fahrenheit 9/11" skewers President Bush. And hundreds of others streamed out of the theater in protest, which was their right, although many went too far by throwing drinks and defacing Ronstadt's promotional posters.

Aladdin President Bill Timmins overreacted when he ordered Ronstadt escorted from the stage to her tour bus, and her belongings brought to the bus from her room. He sent word to the singer that she was no longer welcome at the Aladdin. "We hired Ms. Ronstadt as an entertainer, not as a political activist," Timmins told the Sun.

Ronstadt has been touring the country since May and has been praising Moore at each stop. Las Vegas should be embarrassed at her treatment here. Nowhere else but in the Entertainment Capital of the World has she been treated so inappropriately.