Perry Farrell Sues Jane’s Addiction Members Over 2024 Altercation Hours After They Sued Him

Perry Farrell has filed a lawsuit of his own against Jane’s Addiction members Dave Navarro, Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins over the 2024 onstage altercation that derailed the band’s tour, his complaint coming just hours after the three members sued him earlier on Wednesday.

In the complaint, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Farrell maintains that the rest of the band were the original aggressors in the September 2024 incident that culminated in him punching Navarro on stage. He claimed in the suit that the band took part in a “years-long bullying campaign” where they harassed him onstage and attempted to “undermine him by playing their instruments at a high volume so that he could not hear himself sing without blasting his own in-ear monitors at an unsafe level.”

Farrell claimed in the lawsuit that the band’s alleged harassment “escalated on September 13, 2024 to physical violence by Navarro and Avery against Farrell onstage during the Boston show and the assault of both Perry and Etty Lau Farrell backstage by Navarro.”

Farrell filed the suit alongside his wife Etty Lau Farrell and the company Wilton Hilton Inc. Farrell’s claim disputes the band’s original complaint, which stated that Farrell attacked Navarro and continued to attack him backstage. Farrell alleged the rest of Jane’s Addiction used him as a “scapegoat” to cancel the rest of the tour.

“Perry Farrell was blindsided by not being allowed either input into this decision or even to be heard, leaving him unable to plead his case to continue the tour for Janes Addiction’s fans,” the suit said. “Perry Farrell played no role whatsoever in these ill-conceived decisions utterly lacking in legal authority since he was not even consulted about cancelling the tour and would not have agreed to do so due to the financial and reputational consequences, as well as exposure to third-party legal liability created by their allowing Wilton Hilton, Inc., the band’s touring company, breach its touring commitments.”

When the band had announced the tour cancellation and claimed Farrell was having mental health struggles, Farrell said they’d “published malicious, defamatory public statements” about him, which he said have lead to “significant reputational harm.”

A legal representative for Navarro, Avery and Perkins didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.

Farrell’s suit comes ohurs after the other three Jane’s Addiction members filed a $10 million suit against him over the incident, claiming Farrell’s conduct cost them millions. Navarro specifically had sued for assault and battery.

“History will remember the band as suffering a swift and painful death at the hands of Farrell’s unprovoked anger and complete lack of self-control,” the band said.

Farrell’s suit that he had “reached his breaking point” over Navarro’s loud playing the night of the altercation, but that he responded by “body-checking” Navarro and that he didn’t throw any punches.

“The video evidence is clear that the first altercation onstage during the Boston show was hardly one-sided, and in fact, what followed was an inappropriate violent escalation by Navarro and Avery that was disproportionate to Farrell’s minor body check of Navarro.”

In the suit, Farrell denied that he “sucker punched” Navarro backstage and alleged that Navarro “menacingly charged at and aggressively assaulted both Farrell and his wife Etty Lau backstage.”

“As a founding member and creative force behind Jane’s Addiction, Perry Farrell has always prioritized the band’s legacy and its supporters, which is why the events of September 13th, 2024 in Boston and the resulting fallout was so devastating,” a lawyer for Farrell said in a statement. “Despite this continued bullying perpetuated by Navarro, Perry’s dedication to Jane’s Addiction and the preservation of its positive impact on the music industry remains unshaken. He is actively exploring ways to address the situation and ensure accountability.”