Mick Mars is Suing Mötley Crüe, Says Nikki Sixx Isn’t Playing Bass at Shows – Update

Longtime Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars is suing the band over the circumstances surrounding his departure and an alleged decrease in profit share.

Mars recently announced that he was retiring from touring with Mötley Crüe due to health issues. An official statement said, "Mick will continue as a member of the band, but can no longer handle the rigors of the road." While Mars' statement said he was only retiring from touring, the band's follow-up statement made it sound like he was out.

Now, Mars has now filed a lawsuit against the Crüe. TMZ has obtained legal documents, in which Mars asserts that he still wanted to play with Mötley Crüe in some capacity, perhaps one-off live shows or studio recording, but was "unilaterally" removed from the band after a band meeting. These claims back up what John Corabi was saying about Mars' "retirement," when he said, "I don't totally believe Mick's reasons for leaving Motley."

In addition, Mars claims his profit share was cut from 25% to 5% after he announced his retirement from touring. The legal documents also state that Mötley Crüe’s lawyers told him that he should be happy to even get a small percentage of profit share and that the group didn't think they owed him anything at all. In the documents, Mars is asking for the band to release their financial records so he can get the money that he believes he deserves.

Nikki Sixx is also in this suit. In the legal documents, Mars says that the bass player was "gaslighting" him over his guitar abilities, which have been declining over the years. According to TMZ, Mars is saying that Sixx didn’t "play a single note on bass" on the band's most recent tour and replaced live playing with pre-recorded tracks. Sixx and Motley Crue have yet to respond to Mars's claims.

UPDATE: The band has responded, calling the lawsuit, "unfortunate" and "completely off-base." In a statement to Loudwire, the band said, "Mick’s lawsuit is unfortunate and completely off-base. In 2008, Mick voted for and signed an agreement in which he and every other band member agreed that "in no event shall any resigning shareholder be entitled to receive any monies attributable to live performances (i.e., tours)."

The statement continues, "After the last tour, Mick publicly resigned from Mötley Crüe. Despite the fact that the band did not owe Mick anything — and with Mick owing the band millions in advances that he did not pay back — the band offered Mick a generous compensation package to honor his career with the band. Manipulated by his manager and lawyer, Mick refused and chose to file this ugly public lawsuit. Equally unfortunate are his claims about the band’s live performances." The statement also claims that the band performs live at shows. Find the full statement via Loudwire.

Motley Crue, through all of the obstacles (and there have been plenty), has managed to survive for four decades. It's an overwhelming thought when you think about it.

Just reading or watching The Dirt gave fans an idea of the absolutely insane things the band has gone through. From drugs to horrific tragedies and everywhere in between, The Crue has seemingly seen or done it all.

The latest chapter in the band involves the exit of Mick Mars. The guitarist retiring from touring with Mötley Crüe in October 2022 seemed to come out of nowhere. Apparently, the band thought the same.

Nikki Sixx told Guitar World, "We never saw it coming that Mick wasn’t going to be able to tour and was going to have to quit the band."

At the time, Mötley Crüe was about to hit the road again with Def Leppard following the success of The Stadium Tour. Sixx expressed that after Mars' retirement, the band didn't want to let fans, Def Leppard or tour promoter Live Nation down. This then led them to bring in guitarist John 5 to fill in for Mars. Sixx referred to the substitution as "a no-brainer in a horrible situation -- something we did not ask for or want.

Of course, a lot has played out in the press in the aftermath of Mars' retirement. To begin with, Mars filed a lawsuit against Mötley Crüe alleging his percentage of band profits was cut from 25 percent to 5 percent.

He claimed in his lawsuit the band held a meeting to "unilaterally" remove him from Mötley Crüe. He was also allegedly removed from many of the band's various corporations and LLCs. Additionally, Mars claims bassist Nikki Sixx repeatedly "gaslighted" the guitarist. Sixx told Mars he consistently forgot chords and fans were complaining about his playing. (Mars claimed in the lawsuit Sixx "did not play a single note on bass during the entire U.S. tour" and accused him of using backing tracks and pantomiming.)

While this issue is still ongoing, let us not forget they've provided rock fans with quite the catalog of songs, with a number of those tunes now considered rock/metal classics.

From the classics to the deeper cuts, here are the 40 best songs of Motley Crue, ranked.