The unfortunate dispute between Mötley Crüe and their former guitarist Mick Mars has gotten pretty ugly, with the band’s manager now accusing Mars’ representatives of “elder abuse.”
As previously reported, Mars recently sued Mötley Crüe, claiming his financial cut of the band’s profits was severely reduced and that he was let go from the band despite his desire to remain a member upon retiring from touring. He also snuck in a jab about bassist Nikki Sixx playing to pre-recorded tracks during the Crüe’s live shows.
Mötley Crüe then hit back, with one of their lawyers stating, “Retiring from touring is retiring from the band.” A statement further claimed that Mars’ playing had diminished significantly and that he was being manipulated by his representative into taking legal action against his longtime band. To which Mars responded, “I carried those bastards for years.”
At 71, Mars is significantly older than the other three founding members of Mötley Crüe, whose ages range from 60 to 64. Now, the band’s manager Allen Kovac is claiming that Mars is the victim of “elder abuse” on the part of the guitarist’s representatives.
Kovac told Variety in a new interview, “[Mars has] attacked the band, and he’s done it in a slanderous way, with false accusations and misrepresenting the facts to the fans. Mick is not the victim. The victims are Mötley Crüe and the brand, which Mick is so prideful of.”
He continued, “What’s upsetting to me is not Mick, but his representatives, who have guided Mick to say and do harmful things to the brand he cares about so much, Mötley Crüe. He has a degenerative disease and people are taking advantage of him. It’s called elder abuse.”
Mars’ attorney Edwin F. McPherson, meanwhile, professed, “It is interesting that these declarations about Mick’s playing are from employees of Motley Crue, who rely on the band for their livelihood. I noticed that there are no declarations from anyone about the other members’ playing – or not playing.”
It’s a shame that a 40-year relationship between Mars and his longtime bandmates has gotten so nasty, especially with everything being aired in public.
Even as the legal dispute continues, Mötley Crüe — with new guitarist John 5 — will continue their co-headlining world tour with Def Leppard next month with a UK/European leg followed by another US leg this summer. Tickets are available here.
Photo Gallery – Mötley Crüe play Los Angeles on December 31st, 2015 (click to expand and scroll through):