Richie Sambora Reacts To Jon Bon Jovi’s Calling Himself The ‘Benevolent Dictator’ Of Bon Jovi

Jon Bon Jovi described himself as the ‘benevolent dictator’ of Bon Jovi when The Guardian called him the band’s boss in a 2021 interview. Richie Sambora recently touched on his ex-bandmate’s remarks in a chat with Guitar Player.

The guitarist answered a question asking whether he ever opened up to the vocalist about being unhappy in Bon Jovi as follows:

“Sure, sure. And maybe I was… The article we’re doing should not be about Jon, but you know, he calls himself a benevolent dictator. And there you go – great. His perspective is going to be his perspective. And my perspective is a lot different than that.”

Sambora Says He Worked Just As Hard As Jon For The Band

Bon Jovi’s new documentary, ‘Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story,’ addressed Jon and Richie’s relationship by saying they never had a blowout. The guitarist also commented on that:

“Listen, there were discrepancies and fights – I do things differently sometimes. But I was in a band and, I considered myself a main part of that band. I was there and I did just as much work as Jon did – easily.”

He went on:

“Going back to your question about the songs and the songwriting: See, I was also a fan of his. I could write Jon better than he could, almost. You know what I mean? I would say, ‘No, maybe if you sang that instead…’ Because the guy’s, like, this really good-looking guy, you know what I mean? The girls wanted to bring dudes to the show, and the guys are going, ‘I don’t need the pressure,’ because he’s a good-looking heartthrob and that kind of thing.”

The Guitarist Didn’t Want A Reunion, The Bon Jovi Singer Said

Jon Bon Jovi talked about Richie Sambora’s time in the band and decision to leave in a chat with Classic Rock following the documentary’s release as well. His words read:

“I’ve talked to him twice. He. Quit. The. Band. I swear to Christ there was never a fight, nothing… He wasn’t kicked out, he quit. And he hasn’t made any great overtures about coming back.”

The guitarist previously said he left Bon Jovi partly because they were getting ‘stale.’ The vocalist referred to that and explained:

“I didn’t think so, and the collective, we didn’t think so. I personally thought that everything was going incredibly fucking well. And it was never brought up in the room, or in the writing, or in the recording, or during the first 20 shows of that tour.”

Jon Missed Performing With Sambora

Still, Jon said he missed his ex-bandmate during a recent interview with Record Collector:

“It’s heartbreaking that Richie left and that he did it in that way. We were shocked. I miss him personally and creatively, in the studio and as an integral part of the band onstage.”

He added:

“If you don’t show up for work, your boss is going to say, ‘What the fuck?’ Get help. And if you don’t want to get help… It’s 11 years now. David and Tico have seen Richie once and I’ve seen him twice. It’s not like we haven’t tried.”

Sambora cited the need to spend more time with his family as a reason for his departure at the time. He later refused to rejoin the band for their tour in 2013 but is open to a comeback if Jon Bon Jovi recovers from his vocal issues.