Yeah, sure Jon has the last word. It's his job after all. But I don't get the same impression many people have when he talks about being the CEO, the quarterback, blah blah. Since the beginning I've seen him like the ugly ducking in the band, only in this case a rich/powerful/hot ugly duckling hehe. But his interaction with the rest of the band over the years always struck me as a little bit distant. Probably closer in private, but I always saw Jon as being different from the rest, not because he's boss, just... as if he didn't quite belong there (to me it's pretty evident in the All Access Areas documentary). Again, I'm sure they all are very very close friends, but like many people, you can be pretty close to someone but express that bond in many ways, and in Jon's case it's not in the public personal interaction.

Anyway, I'm rambling, what I meant to say is that I always had the impression that the band was comfortable with their status quo over the years with Jon being the most visible one, if you will. And in return, Jon trusted them, valued their input and made sure everybody kept their dirty laundry hidden, kept them at the top of their game with nobody privy to the cracks that could damage them (not only Jon or the brand). But underneath the surface there's always something, one would be very naive not to think that. For whatever reason, it couldn't be fixed anymore. Bobbys' nonchalance when talking about Richie seems to indicate it's not something that happened overnight.

And to keep in topic, while I agree that Richie could feel betrayed when Jon added another guitarist (again, apparently it was a team decision, so maybe Dave/Tico/Hugh should be considered), you could also say, why wouldn't he listen to the reasons Jon gave, instead or throwing a tantrum? Not saying that he threw one (though if you read between the lines, I think it's hinted), just that Jon should be able to make decisions based on the needs of the band, whether Richie is going to act like a twat or not. Again, not saying that he acted, but you get my drift. Jon shouldn't held back if he felt the band needed to change something just because one member was going to get upset about it. He did the right thing (again, supposedly) and consulted with all of them. So if it's 4 against 1, should Richie sulk and sulk and years later bail on the middle of the tour? or should he man up and see past his ego, this is not a Jon decision, but a team one. Same could be said if it was Dave/Tico/Hugh who left, it's not against Richie, but against the idea that they should blame Jon for an unpopular decision if if was a team decision.

Anyway, whatever happened, I thought since minute one that it was a crashing of the egos and maybe we'll never hear the whole truth but to me it's clear it is what it is and frankly, I doubt they'll ever mend their relationship. Too much pride.

Oh, and if I was Richie I'd be waaaaaaay more hurt to lose the writing partnership than having a mediocre new guitarist who's there for the backing vocals mainly. The moment I saw they had so many new co-writers in Crush I knew something was amiss. It only took 13 years to manifest itself

ETA: The skit is soooo good. I guess they didn't bring the band as it hits too close to home lol

ETA2: Just to be clear, I'm not saying Richie should accept everything like a good boy and lose his voice. I see this scenario and I would have supported Richie if he had spoken out BEFORE making a mess (and shut up his mouth later). But I also see the scenario where he behaved like a spoiled brat when things didn't go his way and blamed Jon/Jon's ego/Jon's management when in fact it was something everybody but him agreed to