Longtime Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars is suing the band over the circumstances surrounding his departure and an alleged decrease in profit share.
Mars recently announced that he was retiring from touring with Mötley Crüe due to health issues. An official statement said, “Mick will continue as a member of the band, but can no longer handle the rigors of the road.” While Mars’ statement said he was only retiring from touring, the band’s follow-up statement made it sound like he was out.
Now, Mars has now filed a lawsuit against the Crüe. TMZ has obtained legal documents, in which Mars asserts that he still wanted to play with Mötley Crüe in some capacity, perhaps one-off live shows or studio recording, but was “unilaterally” removed from the band after a band meeting. These claims back up what John Corabi was saying about Mars’ “retirement,” when he said, “I don’t totally believe Mick’s reasons for leaving Motley.”
In addition, Mars claims his profit share was cut from 25% to 5% after he announced his retirement from touring. The legal documents also state that Mötley Crüe’s lawyers told him that he should be happy to even get a small percentage of profit share and that the group didn’t think they owed him anything at all. In the documents, Mars is asking for the band to release their financial records so he can get the money that he believes he deserves.
Nikki Sixx is also in this suit. In the legal documents, Mars says that the bass player was “gaslighting” him over his guitar abilities, which have been declining over the years. According to TMZ, Mars is saying that Sixx didn’t “play a single note on bass” on the band’s most recent tour and replaced live playing with pre-recorded tracks. Sixx and Motley Crue have yet to respond to Mars’s claims.
