Mötley Crüe Want Mick Mars’ Lawsuit to Go Behind Closed Doors
After weeks of being messy as fuck in public over their ongoing legal dispute with ex-guitarist Mick Mars, Mötley Crüe now want to move the spectacle behind closed doors and have an arbitrator handle things. And Mars’ legal team isn’t having it.
According to new legal documents obtained by TMZ, the band filed a petition asking the judge presiding over their case to transfer it to an arbitrator in a bid to avoid having things play out in court and in front of the public.
The band suggested in their request that over the years, many of their existing agreements dealing with things like touring and recording include “binding arbitration clauses.” Given the fact that Mars’ grievances deal with both of those issues, they argue that an unbiased third party should handle things.
In response, Mars’ lawyer Ed McPherson told TMZ that the call for an arbitrator to handle their case was “yet another attempt by bullies to hide the truth!”
Not only is the band trying to get the case out of the public eye, but they’re also asking the judge to squash a number of Mars’ previous statements about the band, including ones where he cites instances of substance abuse and physical violence. In both instances, the band says those statements are unrelated to the case and that they were only made “for purposes of character assassination.”
You may recall that in his original filing, Mars claimed that while his ongoing battle with ankylosing spondylitis was a reason for him to stop touring, it didn’t mean he was willing to stop recording music with the band or occasionally join them on stage. Despite that distinction, he claimed the band decided to kick him out of the band anyway.
Mars also alleged that the other members of Mötley Crüe asked him to sign a deal that would reduce his 25% stake in the band down to a 5% stake on their 2023 touring schedule. He then said in the lawsuit that they went the route of arbitration at that time “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.” It was also alleged that bassist Nikki Sixx uses a pre-recorded track when playing live and that he gaslit Mars about the musician’s guitar skills, which he claimed were getting worse.
Mötley Crüe, and more specifically Nikki Sixx, responded to those allegations by saying things like Mars’ legal team was committing “elder abuse” and that the 72-year-old guitarist was “confused” about the facts.
Whatever happens next, it goes without saying that this shit has been messy. as. Hell. We’ll keep you up to date about what comes next in this bad telenovela between former band mates.
