According to Variety, Perry Farrell has filed a lawsuit against his JANE’S ADDICTION bandmates — Dave Navarro, Eric Avery, and Stephen Perkins — just hours after they filed a suit against him.
On Wednesday (July 16), Navarro, Avery, and Perkins filed a lawsuit against Perry Farrell, stemming from an onstage altercation between Farrell and Navarro last September that ultimately led to the cancellation of JANE’S ADDICTION’s reunion tour. The suit accuses Farrell of intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract. Additionally, Navarro has brought forward allegations of assault and battery related to the incident.
In his complaint — which, according to Variety, is not a countersuit — Perry states: “That JANE’S ADDICTION’s bandmates have sometimes been antagonistic towards each other has been well-documented. But Navarro, Avery and Perkins apparently decided that JANE’S ADDICTION’s decades of success should be jettisoned in pursuit of a years-long bullying campaign against Farrell involving harassing him onstage during performances, including, among other tactics, trying to undermine him by playing their instruments at a high volume so that he could not hear himself sing without blasting his own in-ear monitors at an unsafe level. This harassment escalated on September 13, 2024 to physical violence by Navarro and Avery against Farrell onstage during the Boston show and the assault of both Perry and [Perry’s wife] Etty Lau Farrell backstage by Navarro. These altercations precipitated the decision by Navarro, Avery and Perkins to both call off the rest of the band’s North American tour. Without warning or consultation and using Perry Farrell, as a scapegoat, Navarro and the other band members took it upon themselves to abruptly cancel the remaining tour dates — violating contracts and disregarding all professional obligations — and apparently break up the band for good”.
Regarding Navarro’s alleged backstage assault, the complaint reads: “Navarro now falsely claims Farrell hit Navarro with a sucker punch. What actually happened was that it was Navarro who menacingly charged at and aggressively assaulted both Farrell and his wife Etty Lau backstage, shouting, ‘What the fuck was that, you motherfucker?!’ Farrell took a defensive stance and shouted, ‘Get the fuck out of here!’ to which Navarro replied, ‘I am never working with you again!'”
The complaint continues: “[Farrell] was not even consulted about cancelling the tour and would not have agreed to do so due to the financial and reputational consequences, as well as exposure to third-party legal liability created by their allowing Wilton Hilton, Inc., the band’s touring company, breach its touring commitments.”
