Tweed not offended by city's snub
By Tony Lofaro, The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — Actress Shannon Tweed said she's not upset about being snubbed by the city of Ottawa after having a proclamation of Shannon Tweed Day rescinded by the acting mayor.
"I'm sure everybody's intentions are good and everybody has the right frame of mind for their own purposes and I respect that. There are no hard feelings," she said in an interview today from Whistler, B.C.
Acting Ottawa mayor Doug Thompson said he "jumped the gun" for publicizing that a day was going to named after the actress before it was fully vetted by the city's Protocol Office. The proclamation was initiated by former regional councillor Linda Davis, a friend of Tweed's, for her arrival in Ottawa next week when she accompanies her partner Gene Simmons of KISS fame to the band's show July 15 at Bluesfest.
Some councillors were upset that a special day was being singled out to honour the actress. Councillor Jan Harder said it was "inappropriate" because Tweed is a former Playboy Playmate and has acted in erotic thrillers and doesn't have a strong link to the area. "She's not an Ottawan and she's done nothing special except living with Gene Simmons," Harder was quoted as saying.
Tweed said the comments by the councillor were out of bounds.
"I didn't think that was necessary, it was childish. She has children and she should know better. That's one of the things I teach my children, no name-calling," she said.
Tweed was also bristled by the characterization of her as a "soft-porn" actress.
"I really wish they would stop saying that because I've never done porn. I've done movies with love scenes, they may not good granted, but I've never had real sex on camera. All pretend, all acting, all the time, so I really hate the term."
Tweed said she's OK with a proposal to have Ottawa's town crier to read the proclamation aloud to her, but she would prefer for people not to make a fuss about her.
"It's sweet that anybody would want to do anything (for me) and I really appreciate it," said Tweed.
"I didn't expect anything, I was going to come up and have dinner with some friends and go to the (Bluesfest) show. Whatever happens is gravy to me."
