Mötley Crüe respond to Mick Mars' 'ugly public' lawsuit

The band have issued a statement

Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx and Vince Neil
Author: Scott ColothanPublished 7th Apr 2023

Mötley Crüe have issued an official response to Mick Mars’ lawsuit against the band.

Mick Mars - real name Robert Deal - filed a lawsuit against the band at Los Angeles County’s Superior Court yesterday (6th April) alleging that the band had forced him out and had withheld information about the various businesses that he has a 25% ownership share in.

Mars alleged the band asked him to sign a severance agreement that would deprive him of those and other future interests, in return for a 5% stake in the group’s 2023 tour, Variety reported.

The 71-year-old guitarist and founding member also claimed that the band were “gaslighting” him and telling him his performance was “sub-par” during the tour.

“Astonishingly, (Nikki) Sixx made these claims about Mars’s playing while he (Sixx) did not play a single note on bass during the entire U.S. tour,” the writ read.

Mick Mars on stage with Mötley Crüe in 2022

Mötley Crüe announced Mick Mars’ retirement from touring last October due to his painful ongoing battle with Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Following the band’s statement in October, former Mötley Crüe vocalist John Corabi suggested Mars had been forced out of the band, while in February Carmine Appice said Mick Mars was unhappy with Crüe due to their alleged use of backing tapes.

Mötley Crüe have now issued their own response to Variety together with signed declarations from seven crew members about Mick Mars’ playing.

Sharing Variety’s article, Nikki Sixx tweeted: “Sad day for us and we don’t deserve this considering how many years we’ve been propping him up-We still wish him the best and hope he finds lawyers and managers who aren’t damaging him. We love you Mick.”

Mötley Crüe’s litigation attorney Sasha Frid told Variety, “After the last tour, Mick publicly resigned from Mötley Crüe.

“Despite the fact that the band did not owe Mick anything — and with Mick owing the band millions in advances that he did not pay back — the band offered Mick a generous compensation package to honor his career with the band. Manipulated by his manager and lawyer, Mick refused and chose to file this ugly public lawsuit.”

Mötley Crüe with Mick Mars in 2022

Frid also agreed that retiring from touring was ‘tantamount to quitting the group altogether’, saying: “That’s correct. Retiring from touring is resigning from the band. The band’s primary function is to tour and perform concerts. And as you saw from the amendment, if a shareholder resigns, he cannot receive any compensation from touring — which is what Mick is trying to get. It’s clear-cut that Mick is not entitled to any more money.”

Tour manager Thomas Reitz also told Variety: “Mick was struggling, forgetting chords and songs. He was not up to speed with the songs and could not play his solos. The other band members spent hours trying to help Mick. Mick would often get frustrated and confused. I also witnessed the band and crew’s frustration with Mick’s mistakes first hand during the rehearsals. Mick’s issues continued and got worse during the tour. Virtually at every concert, he played the wrong chords, wrong song or would forget what song he was playing. A sound technician would always need to have a backup track ready in case Mick played the wrong song or chord.”

In his statement to Variety, The group’s monitor engineer, Scott Megrath, said: “I had to make sure that the other band members would not get Mick’s feed into their earpieces because that would confuse them and potentially ruin the show. Mick’s mistakes happened on numerous occasions and at every show. In my years of experience, I have never seen mistakes like this by a guitarist on stage.”

It's currently unclear when the arbitration between Mars and the rest of the group will take place.

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Alex Lifeson’s real name: Alexandar Živojinović

'Lifeson' is a semi-literal English translation of the Yugoslavian surname Živojinović, which means 'son of life'

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John 5’s real name: John William Lowery


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Michael Monroe’s real name: Matti Antero Kristian Fagerholm


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Jonathan Cain’s real name: Jonathan Leonard Friga


Nikki Sixx's real name: Frank Ferrano


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Bon Scott's real name: Ronald Belford Scott


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Mick Mars' real name: Robert Deal


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Spike’s real name: Jonathan Gray


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