( CNN ) -- The flu has forced an early end to Billy Bob Thornton 's musical tour of Canada , his publicist said Saturday . Thornton 's publicist says Boxmasters band member , crew , have flu ; will rejoin tour on Tuesday . The news was reportedly greeted with loud applause at a Friday night show in Montreal after Thornton called Canadian concert-goers `` mashed potatoes with no gravy '' in a radio interview Wednesday . The Boxmasters ' final Canadian dates -- in Montreal and London , Ontario -- were canceled because `` one of the band members and several of the crew have the flu , '' said Thornton publicist Arnold Robinson . Thornton 's electric hillbilly band will rejoin Willie Nelson 's tour when it returns to the United States for a show in Stamford , Connecticut , on Tuesday , after they have `` a few days off to recuperate , '' Robinson said . The trio was the opening act for Nelson until they were loudly booed in Toronto , a day after the actor-musician 's bizarre interview with a CBC radio host . Ironically , the comments that offended Canadians included Thornton 's assessment that they were `` very reserved '' and `` it does n't matter what you say to them . '' `` It 's mashed potatoes with no gravy , '' Thornton told CBC host Jian Ghomeshi . `` We tend to play places where people throw things at each other and here they just sort of sit there , '' he said . Watch Thornton 's interview » . The audience at Thursday night 's show in Toronto loudly booed the Boxmasters , with some shouts of `` Here comes the gravy ! '' The Toronto Star newspaper reported . Thornton 's remarks about Canadians came near the end of his controversial interview with on the CBC 's `` Q '' program , which began with the host 's brief mention that , in addition to being the Boxmaster 's lead singer and drummer , Thornton was an `` Oscar-winning screenwriter-actor-director . '' Thornton , apparently upset with any reference to his movie career , was unresponsive to Ghomeshi 's questions until the men finally declared a truce to talk about music . Watch more about the controversy » . He `` simply elected not to engage with the interviewer because of the direction of the interview from the outset , '' Robinson told CNN . Video of the interview , which has been viewed by millions online , may leave the audience wondering whether this was a controlled performance by Thornton or a public breakdown that revealed true anger over a perceived insult of his music . Thornton promotes a mythology that his `` cosmic cowboy '' music came together years ago after a fight over coleslaw at a Los Angeles chicken restaurant . His long and successful career as an actor , director and screenwriter does not fit with his struggling musician story he tells in interviews about the Boxmasters .
Band will rejoin tour Willie Nelson tour in Connecticut on Tuesday , publicist says . Comment: Thornton has been catching heat from Canadians for comment in radio interview . Thornton said Canadian concert-goers were `` mashed potatoes with no gravy ''