Dave Navarro is Suing Perry Farrell for That On-Stage Blow Up
Roughly 10 months after their on-stage dust up led to the swift end of a reunited Jane’s Addiction, embattled former frontman Perry Farrell is facing down some legal challenges from guitarist Dave Navarro and the rest of his former bandmates.
According to a report by TMZ, Navarro is suing Farrell for assault and battery as a result of what went down during a Jane’s Addiction show at Boston’s Leader Bank Pavilion on September 13th, 2024. In addition to that lawsuit, Navarro and the other members of the band Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins are suing Farrell for emotional distress, negligence, and breach of contract due to the fact that the band had to cancel its dour following the fight. In that latter suit, Navarro, Avery, and Perkins are looking to get $10 million to cover damages.
For those of you that don’t remember, this all happened while the band was trying to play with the original lineup for the first time in 14 years. Yet that September night, Farrell got belligerent with Navarro, getting in his face and cursing at him. Eventually things got physical, with Farrell pushing and attempting to punch Navarro before he was subdued by the rest of the band and crew.
New details about what led up to this came to light in the actual complaint filed by Navarro, Avery, and Perkins. In their complaint, they said Navarro had exhibited erratic behavior for a while prior to and during the tour. He allegedly even tried to quit the tour ahead of its first show in Las Vegas when the band democratically voted to keep his wife Etty Lau Farrell from dancing on stage while the band played.
Then came the shows where Farrell would apparently get sloshed and slur his words, casually drinking wine on stage before launching into some incoherent diatribes between songs. Things would get worse as the night progressed.
In Navarro’s individual complaint, the guitarist said he’d been suffering from Long COVID at the time and was at a weakened state when the attack happened. The fight allegedly continued backstage, where Farrell reportedly landed a sucker punch on the left side of Navarro’s face.
In the days following that incident, Farrell issued a public apology, saying he accepted “full responsibility” for what went down. He also told fans that he was going to seek treatment for an ailment that caused vocal problems during the tour.
All of this ended with the tour and planned album getting axed. As a result, the band is looking to recoup its lost costs from those cancellations.
