Scandals That Have Soured Billy Bob Thornton's Reputation

Billy Bob Thornton's celebrity status is almost the antithesis of his upbringing. After leaving his humble beginnings in rural Arkansas behind and moving to Los Angeles, the "Landman" star got his first taste of fame in the 1991 thriller "One False Move." Maintaining a celebrity status all these years, Thornton has starred in films including "Sling Blade" — which he also wrote and directed, and for which he earned an Oscar — "A Simple Plan," and "Bad Santa." But woven throughout his decades of success in the industry are pockets of scandal that are equally ingrained in his reputation.

Indeed, many infamous moments throughout Thornton's time in the spotlight have eclipsed his fame as an actor and a musician. The latter was notably exemplified in his meltdown on a radio show while promoting a new album with his band, The Boxmasters, who are arguably, albeit unfortunately, most known in the media for their one-time appearance on CBC rather than their music. Of course, no career highlight could outshine his relationship history. Thornton's love life has been defined by affair rumors and contentious marriages — six to be exact. From his blood-sucking romance with Angelina Jolie to his allegedly abusive relationship with Playboy model Pietra Dawn Cherniak, scandal followed Thornton down the path to his stardom.

Billy Bob Thornton has cemented himself in the film and TV industry, but music was the original trajectory of his career. Thus, he wasn't so enthused when a Canadian radio host introduced him as a multihyphenate artist. In a 2009 interview with CBC's "Q," Thornton lashed out after he thought interviewer Jian Ghomeshi undermined his career with his band, The Boxmasters. When the host cued Thornton for a response, the "Fargo" actor avoided answering; he pretended he didn't understand the question and even went on a rant about his favorite childhood magazine (via YouTube). While his bandmates fell silent, Thornton laid into Ghomeshi for bringing up his acting career, reminding him that he had been instructed not to discuss that part of his life, even if it provided context about who he was.

After Ghomeshi was able to diffuse the conflict and get a few answers out of Thornton, the host was seemingly at his wit's end when the Hollywood legend insulted Canada. "Canadian audiences seem to be very reserved," he told Ghomeshi, adding, "It's mashed potatoes but no gravy." Ghomeshi responded sternly, "Oh, we've got some gravy up here as well."

What was likely supposed to be a small interview for Canadian fans blew up and became a viral sensation, with the press even comparing it to one of the most awkward talk show moments that was caught on camera between Joaquin Phoenix and David Letterman earlier that year. Thornton addressed what he deemed the baffling infamy of his interview during a 2016 appearance on the "Jim and Sam Show," arguing that he specifically asked to be introduced with the band and not individualized for his acting fame.

Billy Bob Thornton's messy affair drama involving multiple women over the years is enough to elicit contempt from many. Specifically, the beginning of his relationship with Angelina Jolie has contributed significantly to Thornton's notoriety. On the heels of his divorce from his fourth wife, Pietra Dawn Cherniak, Thornton met and started dating fellow actor Laura Dern in 1997. Their relationship grew to become very serious, with the pair eventually moving in together and getting engaged. However, while betrothed to Dern in 1999, Thornton began a romance with Jolie after they both starred in the film "Pushing Tin." The affair was like no other because, according to Dern, her fiancé tied the knot with the "Girl, Interrupted" actor while they were still together.

"I left our home to work on a movie, and while I was away, my boyfriend got married, and I've never heard from him again," the "Jurassic Park" star told Talk Magazine in 2000 (via ABC News). "It's like a sudden death. For no one has there been any closure or clarity." In an interview with The Guardian in 2001, Thornton explained that he isn't the type to go to couples therapy and won't work on a relationship if it is going through a rough patch. In terms of how he ended it with Dern, he said, "Others may say that you left our girl and married someone else. But it made me happy and somebody else happy. I'm sorry it caused pain."

Billy Bob Thornton's relationship with Angelina Jolie made headlines for more than just the sordid start to their romance. The couple was notorious for their slew of grandiose gestures of love, including getting tattoos of each other's names and buying adjacent burial plots. They really had tongues wagging when they debuted their seemingly vampiric matching jewelry. Thornton and Jolie wore lockets with each other's blood smudged inside. What was supposed to be a symbol of their romance fueled rumors that they were blood-sucking vampires who lived in a dungeon together.

Thornton described it to The Hollywood Reporter as a simple way to keep each other close while they were apart, filming their respective projects. "[Jolie] thought it would be interesting and romantic if we took a little razorblade and sliced our fingers, smeared a little blood on these lockets and you wear it around your neck just like you wear your son or daughter's baby hair in one," Thornton said. But the media ran with the story, solidifying Jolie and Thornton as Hollywood's Mr. and Mrs. Dracula. The actor told People, "By the time it came out in the press, it sounded like we were wearing a bucket of blood around our necks."

Billy Bob Thornton is married to Connie Angland — as of this writing — and has been since 2014. But before his long-term relationship with Angland, Thornton was married five other times. In 1978, he wed Melissa Lee Gatlin. She divorced Thornton in 1980, citing "incompatibility and adultery on his part" (via People). His marriage to Toni Lawrence lasted from 1986 to 1988, then he moved on to Cynda Williams, from 1990 to 1992. Aside from his high-profile marriage to Angelina Jolie, Thornton was previously married to Pietra Dawn Cherniak, a relationship that ended in a headline-inducing scandal.

During her and Thornton's divorce proceedings in 1997, Cherniak — who wed the A-lister in 1993 and gave birth to two of Thornton's four kids — took legal action against her ex-husband, claiming that Thornton abused her during their four-year marriage. In a restraining order obtained by People at the time, Cherniak wrote, "Over the past year, at least once or twice per month, [Thornton] has hit me, pushed me, punched me, bit me or otherwise physically attacked me, sometimes in front of the children" (via Hollywood Life). Thornton vehemently denied her accusations, writing in a statement, "I'm sorry that Pietra's advisers have convinced her to take this malicious and untruthful course of action by making these false accusations of physical and mental abuse" (via Chicago Tribune).

Years later, his relationship with Cherniak made headlines once again when her sister, Elysabeth, claimed to tabloids that Thornton stalked her. In a 2008 email, Elysabeth accused Thornton of not only abusing her sister during their marriage, but that he had been harassing her for a decade, and even bugged her house. Thornton also denied Elysabeth's claims. Nonetheless, it remains a stain on his reputation.