“You gun one you gun us all!” That’s what British Grammy Award-winning R&B singer Seal had to say to Australian media and The Star casino in Sydney where police allegedly found cannabis in the hotel room of Joel Madden, his co-star on The Voice and the frontman of rock band Good Charlotte.
Launching into a tirade on Twitter, yesterday Seal said, “I for one will not stand by and watch you attempt to destroy my Brother” after hearing the news that a cleaner discovered less than 5 grams of cannabis in Madden’s room on Sunday, hidden in his belongings.
Madden, 34, was promptly kicked out of the hotel where he has been living for the past eight weeks while working on the television series The Voice Australia. At the hotel’s request, Madden was greeting breast cancer victims while the drug search was conducted. The Star has not yet commented on the matter. Madden was issued a warning, but charges have not been pressed.
“Shame on the Star,” Seal vented on Twitter, “you ask him to meet n greet a cancer victim in your hotel then send police to his room?? Nice…very classy..keep it up Judas. I'm done here. can't wait to go home.”
He added, “Way to respect a guest in your country trash media, way to make us feel welcome. Keep it up..sure we'll be back next year. and yes, I say we because it's just a matter of time before you gun us all down.”
Seal, made famous for his song Kiss From a Rose and for his marriage to supermodel Heidi Klum, later backed off his remarks. “I want to apologize for my rant earlier,” he tweeted. “Joel is one of my best friends and I was really hurting for him.”
“I want to say I have loved being in Australia, I've loved working on The Voice and with an incredibly talented group of Australian artists,” he added.
Madden has since taken to Twitter as well in an attempt to reconnect with his fans. “I just want to apologize to anyone I have let down,” he tweeted. “It was never my intention to disappoint people.”
While a few have expressed disappointment, most fans have taken the news lightly, even cracking jokes.
@TBoner said: "Reporting that a rock star like Joel Madden has weed is like reporting that its snowing in Antarctica".
@adam_wilkinson tweeted: "All of a sudden people are shocked Joel Madden does drugs? Do these people not see his hair on the Voice every week?"
The Voice is Australia’s most watched program, with 1.75 million viewers tuning in for Monday night’s semi-final. The last episode will air next Monday.