Mick Mars, Motley Crues guitarist of 41 years, has filed legal papers bringing deep and apparently hostile divisons between him and the other three members of the band out into the open. The suit only demands that the group hand over relevant documents about their businesses in advance of arbitration. But the wealth of details in Mars filing offers a provocative look at the tension between him and the others, in what he says has been a pattern of gaslighting in an attempt to kick him out of the group.
The paperwork was filed in Los Angeles Countys Superior Court Thursday filed through Mars attorney, Edwin F. McPherson, and says the band has deliberately withheld information about the various Motley Crue businesses that he has a 25% ownership share in. Mars says the band has demanded he sign a severance agreement that would divest him of those and other future interests, in return for a 5% stake in the groups 2023 tour, which is going on without him.
Beyond that, the suit immediately clears up what has confused fans since he and other band members issued conflicting statements last October. At the time, Mars issued a statement saying he was giving up his touring duties as a result of worsening health issues, but otherwise would remain a member of the group. The following day, the other members issued their own statement, saying that Mars had retired completely from the band, without qualification. Mars is making clear now that the bands statement was part of a campaign to oust him entirely against his will, and he does not intend to go quietly.
Motley Crues reps did not immediately respond to a request for comment. [UPDATE: Attorneys for the band did respond at length to Variety Thursday afternoon read that story here.]
The filing further alleges that the group particularly Nikki Sixx, a leader of the band in busiess matters had a pattern of belittling him for years, telling him he had cognitive issues and insulting him about alleged poor playing on tour, including the stadium outing he completed with the band in 2022. In return, Mars alleges that the other members of the group engaged in partial or complete miming on that tour, saying that he was the only one performing completely live from the top to bottom of each show.
And in response to the bands apparent position in their demand letters that he was being let go for cause, Mars attorney recounts a history of felony convictions on the part of the other members such as Vince Neils manslaughter conviction and alleged drug and alcohol use, saying that the guitarist has the least reasons of anyone in the group to be let go on the basis of their decades-old agreement that gave everyone a 25% share.
Mars action comes in the form of a verified petition for writ of mandate to compel inspection and copying of books, records and documents held by a half-dozen businesses that fall under the Motley Crue umbrella. He further says that the paperwork the group asked him to sign asked him to divest himself of associated businesses that he didnt even know existed until now.
When he announced his retirement from the road last fall, shortly after completing a 36-date stadium tour, Mars, 71, cited crippling pain from the debilitating disease he has had since age 27, Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), described as a chronic, inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis. Mars says in his suit that he is no longer able to move his head from side to side as a result of the disease. Over the years, this disease caused Marss lower spine to seize up and freeze completely solid, causing scoliosis in his back, and also compressing his spine downward, so that he is now at least three inches shorter than he was in high school. His spine is now completely seized from pelvis to skull, a condition known as bamboo spine.
Nevertheless, despite those issues, Mars claims he can still execute his parts perfectly, and is ready and able to participate in anything that does not subject him to the rigors of the road. He intended to stay in the band for recordings, one-off shows and possible residences, as well as maintain his financial interests, giving up only the touring aspect of the job. (The guitarist John 5 has replaced him for the groups current tour.)
How did Marss brothers of 41 years respond to Marss tragic announcement [about quitting the road]? asks the suit. They noticed an emergency shareholders meeting for the bands main corporate entity in order to throw Mars out of the band, to fire him as a director of the corporation, to fire him as an officer of the corporation, and to take away his shares of the corporation. When he did not go away quietly, they purported to fire him from six additional band corporations and LLCs.
The suit contends, During much of the bands recent tenure, Sixx continually gaslighted Mars by telling him that he (Mars) had some sort of cognitive dysfunction, and that his guitar playing was sub-par, claiming that Mars forgot chords, and sometimes started playing the wrong songs.
Astonishingly, Sixx made these claims about Marss playing while he (Sixx) did not play a single note on bass during the entire U.S. tour, the writ continues. Ironically, 100% of Sixxs bass parts were nothing but recordings. Sixx was seen fist pumping in the air with his strumming hand, while the bass part was playing. In fact, a significant portion of (Vince) Neils vocals were also pre-recorded. Even some of (Tommy) Lees drum parts were recordings. Some fans actually noticed that Lee was walking toward his drum set as they heard his drum part begin, the paperwork contends.
Mars, at times on the tour, did play the wrong chords, but not due to any cognitive dysfunction, it continues. He was playing live, and his in-ear monitors were constantly malfunctioning, causing Mars to be unable to hear his own instrument. The fact is that Mars is rarely mocked or criticized online. He is a quiet member of the group, who shows up to play, and puts his heart and soul into each performance. Conversely, other band members are often criticized online, particularly Neil, who is routinely torn to shreds for, among other things, not remembering the songs.
Just prior to the dueling press releases, the musicians attorney got a Separation and Release Agreement to sign in which it was stated falsely, Mars says that he no longer desires to furnish his services and perform in the Band, and that Mars no longer desires to be an officer or director of the Mtley Cre entities, before concluding that Mars hereby resigns as an officer and director of the Mtley Cre Entities.
In return for signing, his share of the bands touring profits for the 2023 tour would be cut from 25% to 5%, and then 0% for future tours. (Although Motley Crue did a farewell tour in the 2010s, Sixx said recently that they now want to tour into the early 2030s.) The same decreasing-to-zero percentages would apply to merch profits, except for any shirts that portrayed his touring replacement, John 5, for which Mars would get nothing.
A footnote in the suit says its not unusual for a longtime member of a band that is a shareholder to maintain those rights even if they did quit or get fired. Countless members have left countless bands (typically after much less than 41 years), or died, and still maintained (or their estates maintained) their shareholder, officer, and director status, as well as their concomitant right to profits, Mars lawyer points out.
Mars attorney says he was warned that if your client rejects the severance package that was graciously offered to him by the band, he will get next to nothing. I suggest you think about the repercussions of this decision There is undisputed legal cause here for Micks removal. Mick is unable to perform as a full-fledged band member. Among other things, as demonstrated during the last tour, he repeatedly forgets his chords, does not play the right song, plays chords of a different song while on stage, and so on.
Mars lawyer wrote back: Your attempt to squeeze some alleged performance issues into the phrase conduct constituting legal cause for such termination is absurd. More importantly, however, for the band to think long and hard about, is that asserting this as a basis for termination also opens the door for a lot of public scrutiny into the quality of the performances by the other members of the band. That was born out in Thursdays legal filing, which goes into the alleged miming that took place on the 2022 tour.
Following the November Zoom meeting, Crues attorneys made a counteroffer, albeit a modest one to Mars eyes, offering to increase his share of the 2023 tour from 5% to 7.5%, while requiring him to still divest himself of all interests in the band thereafter.
After Mars refused to sign the papers, the band commenced an arbitration. The new filing says the group took it to arbitration rather than a public lawsuit so that the public would not be aware of the deplorable manner in which they treated their brother of 41 years.
Besides the request to the court for a peremptory writ of mandate to obtain the records, McPherson also asks for the reimbursement of attorneys fees and other costs associated with the suit. It does not involve any requests for damages or a judgment on the issues that would theoretically be taken up in arbitration. The other band members are not named individually as respondents in the suit, which is addressed to Motley Crue Touring Inc., Motley Crue Inc., Red, White Crue Inc., Masters 2000 Inc., Cruefest LLC, Motley Records LLC, Masters 2008 LLC and unnamed Does.