Last week, co-founding Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars filed a lawsuit against his former bandmates for "unilaterally" deciding to remove him from the group, having announced his retirement from touring last October. The band then alleged that their live show had suffered from Mars's performance issues due to Ankylosing Spondylitis.
Now, Mötley Crüe's manager of 29 years has spoken out on the former guitarist's "smear campaign," accusing his legal team of elder abuse.
Allen Kovac was apparently so angered by the interview Mars gave to Variety after the filing that he agreed to go on record addressing the accusations the musician had made, which included claiming that the band had been trying to replace him since '87 and that Nikki Sixx's bass parts were "100 percent recorded" on their most recent tour.
"I have a lot of regret that I'm having to do this," Mötley's longtime manager said in a new interview, having reportedly convinced Sixx not to talk to the press himself.
Kovac went on to say that Mars's decision to come out with a list of allegations was to gain leverage in a "smear campaign" against the band he was in for 41 years. "He's attacked the band, and he's done it in a slanderous way, with false accusations and misrepresenting the facts to the fans," Kovac explained. "Mick is not the victim. The victims are Mötley Crüe and the brand, which Mick is so prideful of."
"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 continued. "He has a degenerative disease and people are taking advantage of him. It's called elder abuse."
Kovac added, "Mick's representatives have no idea what they've created, but I've stopped the band from speaking about this, so they're not gonna turn the fans against Mick. But I am going to make sure that people understand that Mick hasn't been treated badly. In fact, he was treated better than anyone else in the band, and they carried him and they saved his life."
The manager also insisted that all of the band's playing is live, and that Mars "caused a trainwreck up there, because he would play the wrong songs and the wrong parts."
Despite the pattern of terrible performances Kovac described, he alleges Mötley had never thought of firing Mars — until the guitarist announced his retirement from touring because the degenerative condition he was diagnosed with at age 27 had gotten too debilitating for life on the road, as it causes vertebrae to fuse over time.
The Crüe reportedly offered Mars a generous compensation package, which he refused and chose to file the lawsuit claiming that his cut of the band's profits was reduced from 25 to 5 percent.
"They honoured their commitment and propped him up," Kovac said. "Now there's a new guitar player. I want people to hear the difference."
Now, Mötley Crüe's manager of 29 years has spoken out on the former guitarist's "smear campaign," accusing his legal team of elder abuse.
Allen Kovac was apparently so angered by the interview Mars gave to Variety after the filing that he agreed to go on record addressing the accusations the musician had made, which included claiming that the band had been trying to replace him since '87 and that Nikki Sixx's bass parts were "100 percent recorded" on their most recent tour.
"I have a lot of regret that I'm having to do this," Mötley's longtime manager said in a new interview, having reportedly convinced Sixx not to talk to the press himself.
Kovac went on to say that Mars's decision to come out with a list of allegations was to gain leverage in a "smear campaign" against the band he was in for 41 years. "He's attacked the band, and he's done it in a slanderous way, with false accusations and misrepresenting the facts to the fans," Kovac explained. "Mick is not the victim. The victims are Mötley Crüe and the brand, which Mick is so prideful of."
"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 continued. "He has a degenerative disease and people are taking advantage of him. It's called elder abuse."
Kovac added, "Mick's representatives have no idea what they've created, but I've stopped the band from speaking about this, so they're not gonna turn the fans against Mick. But I am going to make sure that people understand that Mick hasn't been treated badly. In fact, he was treated better than anyone else in the band, and they carried him and they saved his life."
The manager also insisted that all of the band's playing is live, and that Mars "caused a trainwreck up there, because he would play the wrong songs and the wrong parts."
Despite the pattern of terrible performances Kovac described, he alleges Mötley had never thought of firing Mars — until the guitarist announced his retirement from touring because the degenerative condition he was diagnosed with at age 27 had gotten too debilitating for life on the road, as it causes vertebrae to fuse over time.
The Crüe reportedly offered Mars a generous compensation package, which he refused and chose to file the lawsuit claiming that his cut of the band's profits was reduced from 25 to 5 percent.
"They honoured their commitment and propped him up," Kovac said. "Now there's a new guitar player. I want people to hear the difference."
