LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Members of Jane’s Addiction sued frontman Perry Farrell Wednesday in Los Angeles, alleging the singer’s “brutal and unprovoked” on-stage attack of guitarist Dave Navarro last year caused the band to lose millions of dollars from canceled tour dates and a planned new album.
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and reviewed by City News Service, was brought by Navarro, Jane’s Addiction bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins. The trio reunited with Farrell last year for the original lineup’s first tour together since 2010, but the trek derailed in September when Farrell punched Navarro onstage mid-set at Boston’s Leader Bank Pavilion.
The suit contends that Farrell “ruthlessly assaulted Navarro onstage” and later “continued his unhinged barrage of punches backstage.”
The attack, which was virally viewed by millions of people worldwide, “was brutal and unprovoked. It quickly forced the termination of the show and eventually the entire tour,” plaintiffs allege.
The 36-page suit claims the tour had already sold more than 100,000 tickets and was going to be a “triumphant reunion for the band.”
The band members seek at least $10 million from Farrell, according to the complaint, which alleges that the Los Angeles-based group lost that amount due to the tour cancellation and premature halt to band activities.
“Now, however, the band will never have their revival tour, to celebrate a new album and 40+ years of deep, complex, chart-topping recordings,” according to the lawsuit. “Instead, history will remember the band as suffering a swift and painful death at the hands of Farrell’s unprovoked anger and complete lack of self-control.”
The plaintiffs contend that Farrell was the one who actually convinced the other members to reunite for the tour, but he “was the only one who did not perform to the standards to which fans were accustomed. He struggled night to night amid public concern for his well-being and apparent intoxication. Perry forgot lyrics, lost his place in songs he had sung since the 1980s, and mumbled rants as he drank from a wine bottle onstage.”
The suit also accuses Farrell of intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract.
A representative for Farrell denied the allegations contained in the suit.
“This is yet another clear example of the group uniting to isolate and bully frontman Perry Farrell,” according to the statement. “The timing of this baseless lawsuit is no coincidence — it was filed only after they caught wind of legal action coming from our side. It’s a transparent attempt to control the narrative and present themselves as the so-called `good guys’ — a move that’s both typical and predictable. Just like when they released a defamatory and entirely unfounded statement about Perry’s mental health and unilaterally canceled the remaining tour dates without his input, they’re once again scrambling to get ahead of the truth in a desperate effort to save face.”
Recent Comments