According to Rolling Stone, Jane's Addiction founding members Dave Navarro, Eric Avery, and Stephen Perkins have filed a lawsuit against frontman Perry Farrell. The legal battle stems from a physical confrontation on stage last September that led to the abrupt cancelation of the band’s North American tour and a long-anticipated album. Navarro is also suing Farrell separately for assault and battery.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, July 16 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleges the altercation caused the band to lose more than $10 million: "The Band can no longer function as a result of the Defendant’s conduct, including his sudden, violent outbursts and demonstrated inability to serve as the Band's frontman and vocalist," the complaint states.
"The physical, emotional, and financial harms Defendant has wrought have deeply impacted the Plaintiffs, their families, and their loved ones, and it is time for Defendant to face the consequences of his actions and be held accountable."
Navarro, Avery, Perkins and further allege that Farrell's escalating alcohol use severely affected his live performances.
"Plaintiffs (and others in attendance) had observed during the Tour that Perry regularly appeared onstage in an advanced state of intoxication," reads the filing. "He would often drink wine onstage and slur his speech. Perry frequently went on long, rambling discursions between songs for no apparent purpose other than for his own amusement. The problems with Perry's performance would often worsen as the night wore on and he became more intoxicated."
Attorney Christopher Frost, representing Navarro, Avery, and Perkins, told Rolling Stone the trio initially had high hopes for a full-scale Jane's Addiction revival.
"Dave Navarro, Eric Avery, and Stephen Perkins had high hopes that they could capture the pure spirit of the band's early days and build on it. Initially they did, in the studio and onstage. But … they did so with a fourth bandmate who was by turns unwilling or unable to perform to a reasonable standard and who repeatedly threatened to derail the tour."
Frost emphasized that Farrell ultimately "abruptly and unilaterally ended all the plans for a Jane's Addiction revival" and "left his bandmates holding the bag for an unfulfilled tour and record deal." He added: "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."
For those unaware, Jane's Addiction's show on September 13 at the Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston, MA was sadly the end of the band when Farrell assaulted Navarro on stage. Jane's Addiction originally cancelled their show on September 15 with possible plans to continue, but ultimately canned their whole tour and said they were taking time away as a band.
Despite the chaos, Jane's Addiction released a new single just days after the tour's collapse. Titled "True Love", the track marked the second new release from the reunited classic lineup of Farrell, Navarro, Avery, and Perkins — following "Imminent Redemption", which dropped in July 2024.
Unfortunately that altercation seems to have ben the final nail in the coffin for Jane's Addiction, at least according to Navarro an recent interview with Guitar Player. Navarro avoids a lot of specific wording in his answer, but does concretely note that there's "no chance for the band to ever play together again."
"There were a couple of gigs on this last run that we did last year in Europe with Eric Avery back on bass that were some of my favorite Jane's Addiction gigs of all-time," said Navarro. "There was no bullshit: No props. No nothing onstage. No dancing, no pyro, and no gimmicks. It was just the four of us and some colored lights, and we were playing the songs, expanding on them, and getting in a kind of weird.
"If you combined Grateful Dead and Radiohead, there were moments like that — just weird, experimental jams that we'd never done before as a band. And yet, if you were to ask me what my least favorite gig was, it would be a gig last September, on Friday the 13th, in Boston. I have to speak in broad strokes here, because there are other individuals involved, and it's still very tender and unresolved.
"There was an altercation onstage, and all the hard work and dedication and writing and hours in the studio, and picking up and leaving home and crisscrossing the country and Europe and trying to overcome my [long COVID] — it all came to a screeching halt and forever destroyed the band's life. And there's no chance for the band to ever play together again.
"I have to say that's my least favorite gig, without throwing animosity around, and without naming names and pointing fingers, and coming up with reasons. There was an altercation onstage, and it all came to a screeching halt and forever destroyed the band's life.
"I'll just say that the experience prior to that gig, when we were in Europe and gelling, really, for the first time — because at our ages, in our 50s and 60s, everybody's done what they're gonna do, and we weren't competitive with each other — we were getting along. There was no ego issue; it was just four guys making great music, just like we did in the beginning. I was just us on a stage, with people going fucking crazy.
"And that gig, September 13th, in Boston, ended all of that. And for that reason, that is my least favorite gig that I have ever played. I think that's a pretty democratic way, you know, a pretty bipartisan way to go about it. You know, just the real sadness is the loss of that previous… The experiences are there, but the potential of having those types of experiences ended that night. And so, you know… it is what it is. And that's my answer."
