Cosmetology Board Chairman Edwin Neill, III (after shoving Sound Off Louisiana’s Burns): “What are you going to do about it?”

Edwin Neill, III at the August 2, 2021 meeting of the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology.

Our subscribers will recall our May 9, 2021 feature entailing Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology (LSBC) Chairman Edwin Neill’s covert efforts to try to cram another 250 hours of schoolwork down students’ throats to obtain an “advanced esthetician” designation.  The feature showed three practicing estheticians who showed up at the Cosmetology Board meeting of that month and openly stated their opposition to the measure.

At that point, the measure had sailed through the Louisiana House of Representatives (without a single “no” vote); however, when the bill reached the Senate, it died on the vine without even getting so much as a Senate Commerce Committee hearing.  The author of the bill pulled it.

We knew that LSBC Chairman Edwin Neill, III would not be pleased with that development, but even we underestimated the level of his wrath and anger which clearly built up entailing Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns.  At the August 2, 2021 LSBC meeting, however, Neill’s wrath was on full display, particularly after the meeting when Neill openly pushed Burns in front of about 20 witnesses and, when Burns responded with, “You better back off!,” Neill (who is an attorney) upon getting right in Burns’ face (both masked), then inquired, “What are you going to do about it?”

What prompted such a hostile exchange on Neill’s part?  Well, at 9:40 a.m., as evidenced by the following screen shot of Burns phone, his dental office called to confirm his appointment for Wednesday, August 4, 2021.  Here’s the screenshot:

Believing that the incoming call would be as most doctor offices are now and be automated to just confirm the appointment, Burns slid the bar to accept the call in anticipation of merely hitting a couple of keys to confirm the appointment.  Instead, it turned out to be a live person to confirm the appointment, and Burns whispered (video file to be provided shortly) to confirm the appointment.

Neill absolutely exploded in anger and slammed the gavel down so hard it’s a miracle it wasn’t broken.  He further demanded that the phone call “be taken outside.”  The phone call was over with and the appointment confirmed before Burns could even make it fully out of the meeting room, but before exiting, he let it be known that Neill said absolutely nothing as fellow Board Member James Williams’ phone rang (not a vibrate which nobody heard as was the case for Burns’ call), not once, not twice, but three times!  We’re not talking about three rings for one call.  We’re talking about three separate calls, with Williams’ phone ringing aloud each time.

Here’s a two-minute video clip of the three phone calls Williams received and Neill’s nuclear reaction to Burns trying to merely confirm a dental appointment which he thought would be an automated process but instead got a live voice:

Two-minute video of LSBC meeting of 8/2/21 highlighting Board Member James Williams’ THREE ringing phone calls and when they occurred and Burns’ one silent phone call and him whispering to confirm a doctor’s appointment and Chairman Edwin Neill’s beyond-the-pale nuclear reaction to Burns taking the call.

Given Neill’s incredibly hostile reaction above (without even giving Burns the chance to exit the room), does anyone doubt his anger directed at Burns after the meeting?  We would hope not.  After the meeting, Burns drafted this email to LSBC Attorney Sheri Morris (with Gov. Edwards’ Office copied).  We hope nobody has a heart attack over the complimentary words in the email entailing Larry Bankston.  We promise, Burns is indeed the author of the email!

We guess the next LSBC meeting ought to be interesting, huh?

CLICK HERE for the August 2, 2021 LSBC meeting in its entirety.

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