Scott Weiland, frontman of Stone Temple Pilots and the Wildabouts, tragically passed away at the age of 48 last week. His death garnered attention from fans and former bandmates alike, and now his family has spoken out.
Mary Forsberg Weiland, the rock star's ex-wife and mother to his two children (Noah, 15, and Lucy, 13) penned an open letter via Rolling Stone, pleading with fans not to glorify her ex-husband's death.
In the letter, she explains the difficult position Weiland put her family in, but thanks the public for the outpouring of appreciation they've received since his passing.
It begins: "December 3rd, 2015 is not the day Scott Weiland died. It is the official day the public will use to mourn him, and it was the last day he could be propped up in front of a microphone for the financial benefit or enjoyment of others. The outpouring of condolences and prayers offered to our children, Noah and Lucy, has been overwhelming, appreciated and even comforting. But the truth is, like so many other kids, they lost their father years ago. What they truly lost on December 3rd was hope."
She goes on to praise his talent and ability to connect with audiences, but condemns society for encouraging the detrimental behaviour of stars like Weiland. "We read awful show reviews, watch videos of artists falling down, unable to recall their lyrics streaming on a teleprompter just a few feet away," she writes. "And then we click 'add to cart' because what actually belongs in a hospital is now considered art."
She opens up about his struggles with addiction and mental health, and how it affected their family life ("Even after Scott and I split up, I spent countless hours trying to calm his paranoid fits, pushing him into the shower and filling him with coffee, just so that I could drop him into the audience at Noah's talent show, or Lucy's musical") — even after he moved on to a new relationship.
"This is the final step in our long goodbye to Scott. Even though I felt we had no other choice, maybe we never should have let him go... Over the last few years, I could hear his sadness and confusion when he'd call me late into the night, often crying about his inability to separate himself from negative people and bad choices. I won't say he can rest now, or that he's in a better place," the letter continues. "He belongs with his children barbecuing in the backyard and waiting for a Notre Dame game to come on. We are angry and sad about this loss, but we are most devastated that he chose to give up."
Finally, she closes by asking struggling parents to keep fighting for their children, insisting that "all anyone asks is that you try just a little harder and don't give up." Encouraging others to take a different path than her now deceased ex-husband, Forsberg Weiland closes, saying: "Let's choose to make this the first time we don't glorify this tragedy with talk of rock and roll and the demons that, by the way, don't have to come with it. Skip the depressing T-shirt with 1967-2015 on it – use the money to take a kid to a ballgame or out for ice cream."
You can read the personal plea in its entirety over here.
Mary Forsberg Weiland, the rock star's ex-wife and mother to his two children (Noah, 15, and Lucy, 13) penned an open letter via Rolling Stone, pleading with fans not to glorify her ex-husband's death.
In the letter, she explains the difficult position Weiland put her family in, but thanks the public for the outpouring of appreciation they've received since his passing.
It begins: "December 3rd, 2015 is not the day Scott Weiland died. It is the official day the public will use to mourn him, and it was the last day he could be propped up in front of a microphone for the financial benefit or enjoyment of others. The outpouring of condolences and prayers offered to our children, Noah and Lucy, has been overwhelming, appreciated and even comforting. But the truth is, like so many other kids, they lost their father years ago. What they truly lost on December 3rd was hope."
She goes on to praise his talent and ability to connect with audiences, but condemns society for encouraging the detrimental behaviour of stars like Weiland. "We read awful show reviews, watch videos of artists falling down, unable to recall their lyrics streaming on a teleprompter just a few feet away," she writes. "And then we click 'add to cart' because what actually belongs in a hospital is now considered art."
She opens up about his struggles with addiction and mental health, and how it affected their family life ("Even after Scott and I split up, I spent countless hours trying to calm his paranoid fits, pushing him into the shower and filling him with coffee, just so that I could drop him into the audience at Noah's talent show, or Lucy's musical") — even after he moved on to a new relationship.
"This is the final step in our long goodbye to Scott. Even though I felt we had no other choice, maybe we never should have let him go... Over the last few years, I could hear his sadness and confusion when he'd call me late into the night, often crying about his inability to separate himself from negative people and bad choices. I won't say he can rest now, or that he's in a better place," the letter continues. "He belongs with his children barbecuing in the backyard and waiting for a Notre Dame game to come on. We are angry and sad about this loss, but we are most devastated that he chose to give up."
Finally, she closes by asking struggling parents to keep fighting for their children, insisting that "all anyone asks is that you try just a little harder and don't give up." Encouraging others to take a different path than her now deceased ex-husband, Forsberg Weiland closes, saying: "Let's choose to make this the first time we don't glorify this tragedy with talk of rock and roll and the demons that, by the way, don't have to come with it. Skip the depressing T-shirt with 1967-2015 on it – use the money to take a kid to a ballgame or out for ice cream."
You can read the personal plea in its entirety over here.