Perry Farrell is now also suing his ex-Jane’s Addiction bandmates.
As previously reported, guitarist Dave Navarro, bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins filed a complaint against Farrell, alleging assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract over his actions leading up to Sept. 13, 2024, when an onstage altercation during a show in Boston between Farrell and Navarro led to the cancelation of the band’s tour.
In his own complaint, Farrell alleges that he was the one who was assaulted by Navarro in the Boston incident, and that Navarro, Avery and Perkins have committed intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and breach of contract/bylaws.
Farrell alleges that, during the tour, his bandmates “engaged in a campaign of harassment and bullying of Farrell to try to undermine him during his onstage performances” that included “starting songs when Farrell was not ready” and playing their instruments “at such a loud level that Farrell could not hear himself or sing in
tune.”
These issues led to the events of Sept. 13, which Farrell says he reacted to by “body-checking” Navarro.
“Farrell did not throw any punches, but simply wanted to alert Navarro that he had to stop playing so loud,” the complaint maintains, adding that “what followed was an inappropriate violent escalation by Navarro and Avery that was disproportionate to Farrell’s minor body check of Navarro.”
The suit also alleges that Navarro, Avery and Perkins canceled the Jane’s tour without consulting Farrell, and that their social media statements regarding Farrell after the Sept. 13 incident were “libelous.”
The Jane’s suit alleges the Farrell assaulted Navarro on Sept. 13, and that Farrell’s actions have lost them money, and may leave them financially responsible for an advance given to them to record a new album, which they can no longer deliver.
“Ultimately, with the attack on Dave Navarro seen around the world, Perry Farrell abruptly and unilaterally ended all the plans for a Jane’s Addiction revival,” the band’s attorney, Christopher Frost, said in a statement to ABC Audio Wednesday. “He also left his bandmates holding the bag for an unfulfilled tour and record deal, as our lawsuit explains in detail. Dave, Eric, and Stephen never wanted it to come to this. But they have been wronged, want the accurate story told, and they deserve a resolution.”
In a statement regarding the Jane’s lawsuit Wednesday, lawyers for Farrell told ABC Audio, “This is yet another clear example of the group uniting to isolate and bully frontman Perry Farrell.”
“The timing of this baseless lawsuit is no coincidence—it was filed only after they caught wind of legal action coming from our side,” the statement continued. “It’s a transparent attempt to control the narrative and present themselves as the so-called ‘good guys’—a move that’s both typical and predictable. Just like when they released a defamatory and entirely unfounded statement about Perry’s mental health and unilaterally canceled the remaining tour dates without his input, they’re once again scrambling to get ahead of the truth in a desperate effort to save face.”
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