Jane's Addiction band members suing frontman Perry Farrell for $10M over onstage brawl

Daily Mail​

12 hours ago

Jane's Addiction band members Dave Navarro, Eric Avery, and Stephen Perkins are reportedly suing their frontman Perry Farrell for $10M minimum in damages over his very public, violent outburst on September 13.
The 58-year-old guitarist is suing the hot-tempered 66-year-old for assault and battery, emotional distress, negligence, and breach of contract for throwing punches at him as they performed their 1988 track Ocean Size onstage the Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston, MA.
The 60-year-old bassist and the 57-year-old drummer are suing Perry for emotional distress, negligence, and breach of contract - according to TMZ.
In footage of the brawl, Farrell began angrily screaming at Dave and body-checked him then charged at him as Navarro backed off with his right arm extended.
The Queens-born belter then swung at Navarro before their guitar tech Dan Cleary got in between them and crew member Kevin grabbed hold of Perry.
The former Red Hot Chili Pepper told TMZ that Ferrell allegedly punched him in the face backstage after the incident, and he had been threatening to quit the band as well as making him postpone his March 29th wedding to fourth wife Vanessa Dubasso in order to add more tour dates.
The Lollapalooza founder's wife of 23 years, Etty Lau Farrell, claimed he was suffering from tinnitus and a sore throat and he 'was screaming just be to be heard' over the 'extremely loud' volume of the musicians.
The 50-year-old former backup dancer also claimed that Eric put Perry in a 'headlock and punched him in the stomach three times' while the stage was dark after Farrell had attacked Dave.
Jane's Addiction seemingly split for good following the altercation, which prompted the five-time Grammy-nominated band to cancel the remainder of their 32-date North American Tour just three days later.
'Due to a continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell, we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to discontinue the current US tour,' Navarro, Avery, and Perkins announced on Instagram.
'Our concern for his personal health and safety as well as our own has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs...We can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis. Our hearts are broken.'
In his own statement to Billboard, the 'Godfather of Alternative Music' formally apologized 'to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday's show.
'Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation.'
Jane's Addiction previously broke up in 1988 after Perry - who founded the alternative rock band in 1985 - successfully negotiated to have 62.5% of the publishing rights and royalties while the remaining three members split the rest.
In footage of the brawl, Farrell began angrily screaming at Dave and body-checked him then charged at him as Navarro backed off with his right arm extended
Jane's Addiction seemingly split for good following the altercation, which prompted the five-time Grammy-nominated band to cancel the remainder of their 32-date North American Tour just three days later
On January 3, Avery posted a video of himself 'writing some new lines to some of Stephen's drumming' and gushed: 'Look forward to getting some Mr. Navarro on them. 2025!'
And last month, Navarro teased their new music might be related to their 1993 spin-off band Deconstruction by unearthing an old promo poster
'To be fair, I could see how he wanted more than an equal split, certainly,' Eric admitted to Billboard in 2018.
'That was consistent with Perry always going forward to this day. When it comes to money and stuff like that, he's pretty aggressively self-interested. I remember famously Dave played one of our shows after that and put on a t-shirt that said "12%" or something, because that was the amount that was going to be left for him in Perry's system. So it left some resentment, for sure.'
Dave added: 'It definitely drove a wedge between [Perry] and the three of us. If one guy is saying that he is more important than the others, that's going to drive a wedge. The three of us felt insulted, but it ultimately got worked out.'
On January 3, Avery posted a video of himself 'writing some new lines to some of Stephen's drumming' and gushed: 'Look forward to getting some Mr. Navarro on them. 2025!'
And last month, Navarro teased their new music might be related to their 1993 spin-off band Deconstruction by unearthing an old promo poster.
On Wednesday, Etty Instastoried a snap of the couple kissing in France.