{"id":288274,"date":"2025-11-13T02:32:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T02:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/288274\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T02:32:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T02:32:08","slug":"jon-bon-jovi-iced-out-richie-sambora-ahead-of-forever-tour-source","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/288274\/","title":{"rendered":"Jon Bon Jovi ‘iced out’ Richie Sambora ahead of ‘Forever’ tour: Source"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fans have been livin\u2019 on a prayer that Jon Bon Jovi <\/a>and his band\u2019s guitarist, Richie Sambora, would bury the hatchet for their 2026 tour.<\/p>\n

But they were once again left disappointed when the first Bon Jovi dates in years were announced and Sambora, who last played with the New Jersey icons in 2013<\/a>, was still excluded.<\/p>\n

It seems the former bandmates\u2019 80s rock star egos are still clashing 12 years later.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s [Jon] jealous of Richie. He iced him out. These are all his songs. If you go back to the acoustics with Bon Jovi \u2013 65% of Bon Jovi\u2019s sound is Richie\u2019s voice,\u201d the insider said. Isaac Brekken<\/p>\n

\u201cJon doesn\u2019t want Richie with him,\u201d an insider told The Post.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s jealous of Richie. He iced him out. But these are all his songs. With Bon Jovi \u2013 65% of Bon Jovi\u2019s sound is Richie\u2019s,\u201d the insider claimed, pointing to mega hits like \u201cLivin\u2019 on a Prayer;\u201d \u201cYou Give Love a Bad Name;\u201d and \u201cWanted Dead or Alive,\u201d all co-written by Sambora.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Die-hard fans started posting \u201cWhere\u2019s Richie?!\u201d in the comments section of the announcement for the seven-date, \u201cForever\u201d tour <\/a>which kicks off in July 2026 at Madison Square Garden before making its way to the UK.<\/p>\n

Sambora left the band<\/a> hours before they were set to perform in Calgary, Canada, in 2013.<\/p>\n

His ex-wife Heather Locklear, 64, had recently been hospitalized<\/a> following consumption of a mix of alcohol and prescription pills. The ex-couple share a daughter, Ava, now 28.<\/p>\n

Richie Sambora, the former lead guitarist and vocalist for iconic rock band Bon Jovi, will not be joining Bon Jovi on the forthcoming \u201cForever\u201d tour in July, 2026 \u2014 and insiders say Jon \u201ciced\u201d him out. Getty Images For The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame<\/p>\n

\u201cHe [Jon] doesn\u2019t want Richie with him,\u201d an insider told The Post.\u00a0 Getty Images for Unbridled Eve<\/p>\n

\u201cFamily had to come first \u2013 and that\u2019s what happened,\u201d Sambora told People in 2020,<\/a> and the insider confirmed: \u201cRichie left the band to take care of his daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bon Jovi has always been tight lipped over the fall out, telling Ultimate Classic Rock last March:\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re not in contact because he\u2019s not in the organization any longer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just didn\u2019t show up anymore. And there were emotional issues that he was dealing with as a single dad, and there was substance abuse issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the insider claimed Jon had been battling his own steroid addiction around the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cJon was sticking a needle in his neck for 20 years. Even when he was burning out \u2013 he kept using it. He knew he had a problem in 2009,\u201d they told The Post.<\/p>\n

In an interview on \u201cInside The Actors Studio\u201d from 2009, Jon revealed that heavy touring in 1987 lead to burnout. \u201cWe were burned. I was dead tired \u2014 exhausted. And on top of that exhaustion I was having to sing [so] steroid shots had become like candy to me.\u201d Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t look back at that very fondly,\u201d Jon admitted in an interview for \u201cInside The Actors Studio\u201d in 2009 of his past steroid use. Getty Images for iHeartRadio<\/p>\n

The singer became addicted to prednisone, according to the insider, which can be injected directly into the vocal cords for temporary relief from loss of vocal range and hoarseness.<\/p>\n

Bon Jovi previously opened up about using steroids to help save his voice.<\/p>\n

In an interview on \u201cInside The Actors Studio\u201d from 2009,<\/a> he revealed heavy touring in 1987 had led to burnout.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was dead tired \u2014 exhausted. And on top of that exhaustion I was having to sing [so] steroid shots had become like candy to me. They were just like, \u2018bring it on, bring it on,\u2019 until there was no voice left and I was still getting jacked up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t look back at that very fondly,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n

While Prednisone is not considered addictive like alcohol or opioids, it can cause dependence due to its impact on the body\u2019s natural hormone production.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Jon had a major surgery following the atrophy of one of his vocal cords and underwent extensive rehab.\u00a0 Getty Images<\/p>\n

The insider told The Post Sambora was amped on returning to the iconic rock band for the \u201cForever\u201d tour until he learned his cut would be just 25%. Getty Images for The Recording Academy<\/p>\n

Reps for both Bon Jovi and Sambora did not respond to requests for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More recently, Bon Jovi had major surgery in 2022 following the atrophy of one of his vocal cords, then underwent extensive rehab.<\/p>\n

He explained in a recent interview with \u201cTODAY\u201d show anchor<\/a> Savannah Guthrie that his stronger vocal cord was \u201cpushing the weak one around,\u201d and it was essentially \u201cdying,\u201d making it nearly impossible to hit the notes he\u2019s been belting for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe road has been long. It\u2019s been tough. But I persevered,\u201d he told TODAY of his recovery, which entailed having a surgeon insert an implant on the outside of his vocal cords to make them stronger.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he cared about the fans, he\u2019d have Richie there,\u201d an insider told The Post. A source close to the band, meanwhile, said: \u201cRichie made the choice to leave 13 years ago, so it is his decision to not be part of the band.\u201d\u00a0 Photo by Bill McCay<\/p>\n

Jon and Sambora appeared separately in the four-part, 2024 Hulu docuseries, \u201cThank you, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The insider told The Post Sambora was amped on returning to the iconic rock band for the \u201cForever\u201d tour, and claiming he even \u201chugged it out\u201d with Jon during a meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, to discuss plans to reunite on tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Richie was walking out the door, Jon was like, \u2018You\u2019re not at 25% anymore, you\u2019re at 10%,\u201d the insider said of Richie\u2019s earnings for the tour.<\/p>\n

That apparently caused him to back out again. \u201c[Richie] sent Jon a video and said, \u2018Hey man, lots of love, lots of prayers \u2013 good luck on the road.\u2019 It\u2019s an insult to Richie!\u201d The insider said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A source close to the band told The Post: \u201cRichie made the choice to leave 13 years ago, so it is his decision to not be part of the band.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJon was trying to push him out \u2013 Jon wanted all the money; the fame. Jon said, \u2018Hey I have all these songs.\u2019 Richie was like, \u2018Hey, they don\u2019t sound\u00a0 good.’\u201d Isaac Brekken<\/p>\n

Bon Jovi\u2019s last tour in 2022 was met with mixed reviews, with many critics and fans calling out Jon\u2019s weak vocals that shrunk compared to what they once were. Getty Images for The Recording Academy<\/p>\n

He has been replaced since 2013 by Canadian guitarist Phil X (born Philip Xenidis).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The insider accused front man Bon Jovi <\/a>of acting more like \u201ccon Jovi,\u201d in recent years, trying to assume the whole band\u2019s legacy as his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cJon wanted all the money, the fame,\u201d they said, insisting Sambora is the better songwriter, adding: \u201cIn the beginning, Jon said, \u2018Hey I have all these songs.\u2019 Richie was like, \u2018Hey, they don\u2019t sound good.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ones Richie writes become hits. He s\u2013ts gold bars.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, a string of solo singles released by the guitarist in 2024 and 2025 have failed to have much impact.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the source close to the band claimed Jon was always a \u201cvery charismatic\u201d<\/a> band leader, and the driving force in the early days.<\/p>\n

\u201cJon was super, super ambitious. He was so charismatic.\u00a0He wasn\u2019t a great singer, but he had stage presence. He was drawing in girls. I thought he\u2019d get one record and disappear,\u201d the source told The Post.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile the insider insists it\u2019s the fans who are the ones that suffer because the two key members can\u2019t work things out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fans know the difference. That\u2019s the sad thing,\u201d they claimed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fans have been livin\u2019 on a prayer that Jon Bon Jovi and his band\u2019s guitarist, Richie Sambora, would…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[236,88,186,13159,15050,1253,104477,12249],"class_list":{"0":"post-288274","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-exclusive","11":"tag-jon-bon-jovi","12":"tag-madison-square-garden","13":"tag-musicians","14":"tag-richie-sambora","15":"tag-rock-and-roll"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}