Scott Weiland was the one who kept saying Stone Temple Pilots couldn’t legally fire him. However, not only did his former bandmates do just that (playing their first show with Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington last week), but they’re also supposedly taking Weiland to court.
According to TMZ and Billboard, the other three members of Stone Temple Pilots (Dean DeLeo, Eric Kretz, and Robert DeLeo) are suing Scott Weiland for unspecified damages. They supposedly claim in their lawsuit that Weiland sabotaged its 20th anniversary tour by being chronically late for performances and missing promotional gigs. The band apparently go as far to even claim that the singer’s plan was to “hijack” to tour, to the point he wouldn’t even communicate with band members in an effort to “seize all the glory.” The band also supposedly wants the court to force Weiland to stop from even calling himself a former member of the band, stating that they own the songs, copyrights and trademarks (not Weiland). “Enough is enough,” the band’s lawsuit reportedly states. “Without relief from the court, Weiland will continue violating STP’s rights, misappropriating STP assets and interfering with the band’s livelihood.”
Around the same time the lawsuit became public knowledge, Weiland himself issued a statement addressing everything that’s happened with STP within the past week. Stating he was as shocked as fans were to see the band onstage with Bennington and that the version that played at KROQ’s Weenie Roast has no legal right to call itself STP, Weiland said the following:
“A letter to my fans,
Like everybody else out there, I read about my band, Stone Temple Pilots, and their recent performance this past weekend with a new singer. To tell you the truth, it took me by surprise. And it hurt. But the band that played last weekend was not Stone Temple Pilots and it was wrong of them to present themselves as that.
First of all they don’t have the legal right to call themselves STP because I’m still a member of the band. And more importantly, they don’t have the ethical right to call themselves Stone Temple Pilots because it’s misleading and dishonest to the millions of fans that have followed us for so many years. When I tour on my own, it’s never as Stone Temple Pilots. It’s as Scott Weiland. The fans deserve to know what they’re getting.
Like any band that’s stood the test of time and made music for more than two decades, STP had a special alchemy – the four of us together were greater than any one of us apart. So if my former bandmates want to tour with a new singer, that’s their prerogative. I don’t give a fuck what they call themselves, but it’s not Stone Temple Pilots.
And so I say to you, our fans, I’ll see you out there on the road this summer where I’m touring as ‘Scott Weiland’ with my band The Wildabouts. But don’t give up on STP. I know I haven’t.
~ Scott”
Weiland’s statement certainly doesn’t make it seem like he’s been trying to sabotage STP’s tours (as the band supposedly claim in their lawsuit). However, Weiland’s erratic behavior on tour and lateness for shows has been pretty well documented (some nights performing great, and appearing disoriented on other nights). And even though he doesn’t call himself STP when playing without the other members, he does profit from playing STP hits on solo tours. In fact, his current Purple At The Core tour finds him performing songs from the STP albums Core and Purple with his solo band. Whether that’s enough for STP to legally sever ties with Weiland and move on with a new singer is now for the courts to determine.
UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter has posted a copy of the court documents, the front page of which can be seen below.
