Guitarist Dave Navarro, bassist Eric Avery, and drummer Stephen Perkins are suing Perry Farrell over the onstage fight that led to the cancellation of Jane’s Addiction’s reunion tour. The incident occurred in September during a show in Boston, and it essentially led to the band’s dissolution. The lawsuit was first reported by TMZ and Rolling Stone.
Navarro, Avery, and Perkins are suing Farrell for assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract. They also claim that they lost over $10 million in potential earnings due to canceled shows and the inability to make a new album, which would have been the first from the classic Jane’s Addiction lineup since 1990.
The former Jane’s Addiction members allege in the lawsuit that Farrell was often intoxicated on tour and during shows. “The problems with Perry’s performance would often worsen as the night wore on and he became more intoxicated,” the lawsuit reads.
The musicians and their attorneys allege in the complaint that “Perry’s repeated and unprovoked attack on Navarro was especially painful because Perry knew that Navarro was still weak and suffering from the effects of long COVID-19.” The attack apparently continued backstage, too, with Farrell throwing “another unexpected punch at [Navarro], striking him on the left side of the face.”
Jane’s Addiction began their comeback when they shared the new song “Imminent Redemption” in June 2024. A second new song, “True Love,” arrived just days after the Boston incident. According to the lawsuit, they had eight more tracks they were going to finish after the tour.
According to Christopher Frost, an attorney representing Navarro, Avery, and Perkins, Farrell “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.”
In a statement shared with Pitchfork, Miles M. Cooley, an attorney for Perry Farrell, said: “This is yet another clear example of the group uniting to isolate and bully frontman Perry Farrell. The timing of this baseless lawsuit is no coincidence—it was filed only after they caught wind of legal action coming from our side. It’s a transparent attempt to control the narrative and present themselves as the so-called ‘good guys’—a move that’s both typical and predictable. Just like when they released a defamatory and entirely unfounded statement about Perry’s mental health and unilaterally canceled the remaining tour dates without his input, they’re once again scrambling to get ahead of the truth in a desperate effort to save face.”
Cooley is one of the attorneys representing Farrell in his own lawsuit against his former Jane’s Addiction bandmates.
