In Jane’s Addiction’s new lawsuit against Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro revealed he has been sober since spring 2023 and ‘regularly meets with a sobriety coach.’
This past Wednesday (July 16th), it was announced that guitarist Dave Navarro was suing frontman Perry Farrell for battery and assault following the pair’s onstage scuffle that took place in the middle of Jane’s Addiction’s show in Boston last September.
According to TMZ, Navarro and fellow Jane’s Addiction members Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins have also filed an additional lawsuit against Perry, suing him for emotional distress, negligence, and breach of contract. They are seeking at least $10 million in damages as a result of the major financial losses caused by the cancellation of their tour and new album.
Now, Farrell has filed his own lawsuit – not a countersuit – against the band, accusing them of conducting “a years-long bullying campaign” against him, and alleging that he had no say in their decision to cancel their tour and break up the band.
In the 30-page legal complaint, Farrell claims his altercation with Navarro was driven by his frustration over his Jane’s Addiction bandmates “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.” He also alleges that Navarro assaulted him and his wife Etty Lau Farrell backstage.
In a statement shared with Variety, Farrell’s lawyers said he was used as a “scapegoat” and that he was “blindsided” when his bandmates cancelled the tour without consulting him, “violating contracts and disregarding all professional obligations.”
“If that was not harmful enough, Dave Navarro then intentionally and publicly blamed Perry for the canceled tour dates effectively destroying Perry’s reputation and causing him irreparable harm,” Farrell’s lawyers added.
In response, the attorneys for Navarro, Avery, and Perkins released a statement saying:
“If there is a question about what to believe, you can believe the video we’ve all watched. You can believe Etty Farrell’s contemporaneous Instagram posts stating: ‘Perry was clearly the aggressor, I’m not arguing that point at all… [H]e has been struggling mentally for quite some time….’ You can believe Perry himself when he apologized to the Band: ‘I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday’s show. Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior.’
“Today’s complaint from Perry, including his account of events backstage after the September 13 show, is revisionist history. It won’t stand.”
In a prior statement, their legal representatives also said that the three had “high hopes” for the band’s recent reunion, but that Farrell was “unwilling or unable to perform to a reasonable standard and who repeatedly threatened to derail the tour.”
“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. 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.”
