Mötley Crüe and Mick Mars feud explained

The co-founder and lead guitarist of Mötley Crüe has taken legal action against the rest of the legendary heavy metal band starting a tense public feud.

Mick Mars, real name Robert Alan Deal, took the band to court in early April 2023 after accusing them of trying to kick him out the band after he retired from touring due to health issues.

Here’s what we know about the Mötley mess so far.

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What happened between Mötley Crüe and Mick Mars?

The dirty laundry of the notorious band is being aired all over the media following Mick Mars’ lawsuit against his three band mates.

After a 41-year-run with the group, the guitarist stepped back from touring in October, 2022.

Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee continued to tour with a replacement guitarist, John 5.

The band is now squabbling over whether Mars – who holds a 25 per cent share in Mötley Crüe’s business – is still part of the band.

Mars’ attorney Edwin F. McPherson alleges that as soon as the guitar player made his announcement following issues with chronic pain, the other band members held an meeting to try to remove Mars.

In the legal petition, obtained by the LA Times, McPherson states: “They noticed an emergency shareholders’ meeting for the band’s main corporate entity in order to throw Mars out of the band, to fire him as a director of the corporation, to fire him as an officer of the corporation, and to take away his shares of the corporation.

His attorney also alleges that Mars made it clear it was not a full-on retirement and that he would make himself available for recording, residences and other band activities.

After Mars’ statement in October, 2022, Neil, Sixx and Lee quickly put out a statement saying that Mars was in fact retiring from the band.

“While change is never easy, we accept Mick’s decision to retire from the band due to the challenges with his health. We have watched Mick manage his Ankylosing Spondylitis for decades and he has always managed it with utmost courage and grace.

“To say ‘enough is enough’ is the ultimate act of courage. Mick’s sound helped define Mötley Crüe from the minute he plugged in his guitar at our very first rehearsal together.

“The rest, as they say, is history. We’ll continue to honor his musical legacy,” the statement read.

However, Mars’ attorney states that he was presented with a “horrifically unfair and one-sided” separation and release agreement.

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Mars has not gone away quietly and the band appears to be in stuck in a very public stalemate with angry parties on both sides.

The now-rogue Mars has since been making loud allegations against the other members of Mötley Crüe, including claims of gaslighting, bullying and plots against him.

He also alleged that his band mates performances were pre-recorded.

How did Mötley Crüe meet Mick Mars?

Mick Mars (born on May 4, 1951) has been a member of the genre-defying band since its earliest beginnings and he credits himself as a co-founder of the LA-based band.

Mars put an add out in 1981 for musicians that brought him to bassist Sixx and drummer Lee. The legal petition also claims that Mars brought Neil, who went to school with Lee, into the band.

Mars’ team also say that while he and Sixx stayed a steady part of the band for 41 years, Lee and Neil left at different times to ultimately return in later years.

Mars was diagnosed with the extremely painful Ankylosing Spondylitis when he was 27.

For decades, he has struggled with the pain of the inflammatory form of arthritis on his spine and pelvis, which eventually led him to the decision to retire from touring and, in turn, the unfolding feud between the band and him.

What has Mötley Crüe said about Mick Mars?

The band has been staying relatively quiet since the bombshell lawsuit and subsequent explosive allegations.

However, the band’s manager of 29 years Allen Kovac was reported to be so furious at the lawsuit that he needed to go on record to refute Mars’ claims.

In a statement to Variety, Kovac said: “I have a lot of regret that I’m having to do this” after explaining he was forced to talk Sixx out of speaking publicly.

Kovac believes Mars is trying “to gain leverage in a smear campaign on Motley. He’s attacked the band, and he’s done it in a slanderous way, with false accusations and misrepresenting the facts to the fans.

“Mick is not the victim. The victims are Motley Crue and the brand, which Mick is so prideful of,” he said.

Kovac then alleged that bad representation is responsible for Mick’s behaviour. “He has a degenerative disease and people are taking advantage of him. It’s called elder abuse.”

The key members of the Crue camp have stayed decidedly quiet for now.