During a conversation with Variety, Bryn Bridenthal, the publicist who headed the departments at DreamWorks, Geffen, Capitol, and Elektra back in the ’80s, talked about being abused by members of Poison.
The source reports that the incident happened after a Motley Crue show at the Los Angeles Forum in 1987, a few months following the release of Guns N’ Roses’ debut album “Appetite for Destruction.”
Bridenthal went to an after-party at the venue where she talked with Poison bassist Bobby Dall.
She said:
“He was all upset over a feature in Hit Parader that had Slash saying Poison were posers. I may well have had a smirk on my face – because I thought it was pretty funny that he thought this was all that important.
“So I said to him, ‘I can’t believe a band that’s sold two million albums feels so threatened by a band that hasn’t even sold 200,000 copies yet.”
Bryn said that Bobby reacted by throwing a drink in her face, and then “jammed the cup on my head like a dunce cap.”
She added:
“I retreated to the restroom to blot up the sticky liquid – mascara and beer really sting when splashed in your eyes.”
As the publicist and her friend were leaving the party, Bryn said she was approached by Dall and Poison singer Bret Michaels. She added:
“One held my arms back and the other threw a tub of melted ice water over my head. Then a couple of security guys from the venue came up to say I was leaving, grabbed me under my arms and carried me out to the parking lot, locking me out for ‘bothering’ the Poison guys.
“The next day I told [Geffen Records President/ COO] Eddie Rosenblatt and David Geffen what had happened and right away they were outraged and wanted to call an attorney.
“I declined – because I thought it went with the territory and I could just forget about it. But when Poison and their management began calling repeatedly to threaten me, I changed my mind and wanted apologies.
“I got insincere letters typed from their attorneys. Let’s just say I’m not a Poison fan.”