The legal drama continues between Mötley Crüe and former guitarist Mick Mars, who announced his retirement from touring last October due to the progression of his Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). While he fully intended on no longer touring exhaustively, Mars has since claimed that he was not trying to quit the band — but his decision reportedly ended up in a "unilateral removal" from the Crüe, according to his subsequent lawsuit against them.
MC denied the claims and said that their backing track-heavy live show suffered due to Mars's "performance issues." The band's long-time manager even went so far as to accuse the former guitarist's legal team of elder abuse, with Nikki Sixx doubling down by calling Mars "misled" and "a little bit confused."
And it sounds like this litigious back-and-forth is maybe the most the remaining members of Mötley Crüe and their former bandmate have spoken in the past while, with Mars revealing that they all refused to speak to him during his final tour with the band last year.
"Nobody spoke to me in 2022," he told Rolling Stone's Andy Greene in a new interview. "A lot of the time felt like I was just playing by myself. You know how you can be in a crowd of people and still feel alone? That's how I felt that whole tour. I felt used, sad and inferior."
Mars continued, "When we played the last show [in Las Vegas on September 9, 2022], I felt relieved. A lot of the pressure was gone. But I was very emotionally wounded. They weren't just shallow wounds. They were deep ones; the kind you can't get over."
The musician is convinced that the damage between him and the rest of the Crüe is irreparable. Mars told Greene that he thinks everyone would rather not speak to each other again.
"I think all of us would be okay with that," he said. "And I don't just mean me with them. I mean them with each other."
Although he estimates only having seven or eight years left, Mars said that he will not be having a funeral procession. "If I did, I think maybe they'd show up for that just out of courtesy," he admitted. "But for me, there's no funeral. There's no nothing."
"Just let me retire and have my legacy," Mars went on about the legal battle. "I don't want to be a drama guy. I want to be a fuckin' happy guy. But what do I get handed? Plates of shit. I don't want it. I'm beat up on that shit. Let me have my legacy so that I can enjoy what I've done."
"I've never seen anybody have to go through this shit when they want to retire," he added. "I'm not an employee of Mötley Crüe though. I'm an owner."
MC denied the claims and said that their backing track-heavy live show suffered due to Mars's "performance issues." The band's long-time manager even went so far as to accuse the former guitarist's legal team of elder abuse, with Nikki Sixx doubling down by calling Mars "misled" and "a little bit confused."
And it sounds like this litigious back-and-forth is maybe the most the remaining members of Mötley Crüe and their former bandmate have spoken in the past while, with Mars revealing that they all refused to speak to him during his final tour with the band last year.
"Nobody spoke to me in 2022," he told Rolling Stone's Andy Greene in a new interview. "A lot of the time felt like I was just playing by myself. You know how you can be in a crowd of people and still feel alone? That's how I felt that whole tour. I felt used, sad and inferior."
Mars continued, "When we played the last show [in Las Vegas on September 9, 2022], I felt relieved. A lot of the pressure was gone. But I was very emotionally wounded. They weren't just shallow wounds. They were deep ones; the kind you can't get over."
The musician is convinced that the damage between him and the rest of the Crüe is irreparable. Mars told Greene that he thinks everyone would rather not speak to each other again.
"I think all of us would be okay with that," he said. "And I don't just mean me with them. I mean them with each other."
Although he estimates only having seven or eight years left, Mars said that he will not be having a funeral procession. "If I did, I think maybe they'd show up for that just out of courtesy," he admitted. "But for me, there's no funeral. There's no nothing."
"Just let me retire and have my legacy," Mars went on about the legal battle. "I don't want to be a drama guy. I want to be a fuckin' happy guy. But what do I get handed? Plates of shit. I don't want it. I'm beat up on that shit. Let me have my legacy so that I can enjoy what I've done."
"I've never seen anybody have to go through this shit when they want to retire," he added. "I'm not an employee of Mötley Crüe though. I'm an owner."
