Dustups between band members are nothing new. Guns N’ Roses, Oasis, and the Who have had their fair share of drama, and now the members of Jane’s Addiction have let their simmering aggressions get the best of them in front of a live audience. But this broken-up band is taking its onstage feud to a courtroom filing with dueling lawsuits blaming each other for the ruin of what was supposed to be Jane’s Addictions redemption tour. Los Angeles judge Mark Young has set a court hearing for January 13, 2026 for the band’s legal meltdown.

“It’s a textbook case of how personal conflicts can turn into public legal battles that threaten the band’s future as both a business and an artistic unit,” said Los Angeles–based entertainment attorney Camron Dowlatshahi.” We’ve seen it happen far too often with rock bands, but this one is unique in that it involves a personal-injury lawsuit … I think there’s very little that’s ‘rock and roll’ about suing your bandmate for $10 million, so there typically is a branding and image component as well to not resorting to litigation.”

What kicked off the drama with Jane’s Addiction?

In the middle of a Boston show in September 2024, fans were shocked when Perry Farrell appeared to aggressively confront Dave Navarro onstage. Video of the encounter shows Farrell yelling at Navarro and then Navarro putting up his arm to stop him. A fight broke out as other members of the band appeared to restrain Farrell. The tour was subsequently canceled and the band announced its split in a now-deleted Instagram post.

What happened after the band canceled the tour?

Ten months after the incident, Dave Navarro, guitarist; Eric Avery, bassist; and Stephen Perkins, drummer, filed a lawsuit against Farrell accusing him of assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and breach of contract. They alleged that Farrell “ruthlessly assaulted Navarro onstage, midshow” during the band’s 33-date North American reunion tour, according to the 36-page lawsuit filed July 16 in Los Angeles Superior Court. They alleged that Farrell also “continued his unhinged barrage of punches backstage.”

Farrell’s “brutal and unprovoked” attack forced them to cancel the rest of the remaining revival tour dates, according to their complaint. In addition, they said it was Perry’s idea in the first place to put on the reunion tour, despite the fact that he continued to fight long-term COVID-19 complications. The complaint also said Perry failed to perform to the standards the fans were accustomed to during the shows.

“He struggled night to night amid public concern for his well-being and apparent intoxication,” the lawsuit states. “Perry forgot lyrics, lost his place in songs he had sung since the 1980s, and mumbled rants as he drank from a wine bottle onstage.”

Why did some band members file a lawsuit?

After the initial lawsuit was filed, Christopher Frost, the attorney representing Navarro, Avery, and Perkins released a statement on their behalf. It stated that the band entered the reunion tour with “high hopes that they could capture the pure spirit of the band’s early days and build on it.” Frost said in the statement that the tour took a turn when Farrell was “unwilling or unable to perform to a reasonable standard and who repeatedly threatened to derail the tour.”

“Ultimately, with the attack on Dave Navarro seen around the world, Perry Farrell abruptly and unilaterally ended all the plans for a Jane’s Addiction revival. He also left his bandmates holding the bag for an unfulfilled tour and record deal, as our lawsuit explains in detail. Dave, Eric, and Stephen never wanted it to come to this. But they have been wronged, want the accurate story told, and they deserve a resolution.”

What was Perry Farrell’s response to the lawsuit?

Perry Farrell fired back that same day with his own lawsuit, suing Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins, and Eric Avery. Farrell maintains that Navarro, Avery and Perkins purposely pursued a yearlong bullying campaign against him that included harassing him onstage during performances using tactics like playing their instruments so loud that Farrell said he could not hear himself sing. Farrell said the harassment reached a breaking point during that September 2024 Boston show, according to his lawsuit.

Farrell’s lawsuit stated that things came to head when despite his repeated requests that Navarro continued to play at top volume and during the song “Ocean Size.” Agitated, Farrell said he body checked Navarro but denied throwing any punches. He said in response that Navarro placed his forearm on his neck and then Avery put him in a headlock and began repeatedly punching him in his stomach and kidneys. He said the onstage fight continued backstage and Farrell said he had no choice but to defend himself and his wife who was with him.

Farrell’s complaint stated that after that night his bandmates called off the tour without consulting him and then used him as a “scapegoat.” He accused them of violating contracts and disregarded their professional obligations and of “breaking up the band for good.” He also accused them of blaming the cancellation of the tour on him. In his lawsuit, he said that after the fight, a specialist doctor diagnosed him with significantly damaged eardrums and advanced hearing loss due to the loud volume in his in-ear monitors. Farrell is suing his former band member for assault and battery, breach of contract, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

What did Etty Lau, Farrell’s wife, say about the fight?

On Instagram, Lau said there was “a lot of tension and animosity” between the band that night and “Perry got up in Dave’s face and body-checked him.” She said Farrell’s frustration had been mounting after he felt he was consistently being drowned out by the band. She added that “while Dave was keeping Perry at arm’s length to de-escalate the situation” that Avery “put Perry in a headlock and punched him in the stomach three times.”

“Perry was a crazed beast for the next half an hour — he finally did not calm down, but did break down and cried and cried,” Lau wrote on Instagram. “Eric, well he either didn’t understand what de-escalation meant or took advantage of the situation and got in a few cheap shots on Perry.”

How did the three bandmates react after Farrell sued them?

Navarro, Avery, and Perkins’s attorney, Christopher Frost, called Farrell’s lawsuit an attempt at “revisionist history.” He pointed out in a statement a post by Farrell’s wife on Instagram where she said that “Perry was clearly the aggressor, I’m not arguing that point at all … He has been struggling mentally for quite some time …”

“You can believe Perry himself when he apologized to the Band: ‘I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family, and friends for my actions during Friday’s show. Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior.”

 How Jane’s Addiction’s Imminent Redemption Tour turned out to be anything but.