All seems well again after Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell apologized to fans and bandmates for his outburst onstage that ultimately ended the group’s tour last year, though it seems unlikely the band will play together again any time soon.
During a September 2024 show in Boston, Farrell punched guitarist Dave Navarro during a rendition of their 1988 song “Ocean Size,” as seen in videos that circulated online. The show ended with the singer being walked off the stage and his bewildered bandmates calling it a night.
Three days later, the band announced they were canceling the remainder of their tour.
Farrell’s wife claimed at the time that the clash was the result of “tension and animosity” among members of Jane’s Addiction, who were playing their instruments at a volume that forced the singer to strain his voice. Farrell’s bandmates, meanwhile, blamed him for losing his mind.
“I’ve reflected on it and I didn’t handle myself the way I should have,” Farrell posted on Instagram Wednesday, more than 15 months after the incident.
The 66-year-old frontman specifically apologized to the fans who were in Boston for that fateful show, which was cut short because of his actions.
“I apologize to our patrons and my bandmates for losing my temper and for disrupting the show,” he said in a statement expressing gratitude for what the band has meant to him since forming in 1985.
Farrell’s bandmates replied to their singer’s mea culpa and apologized to him as well.
“After that show, without notice to Perry, we unilaterally decided it would be best to not continue the tour and made inaccurate stories about Perry’s mental health, which we regret,” Jane’s Addiction musicians Navarro, Stephen Perkins and Eric Avery replied.
In July of this year, the trio filed a lawsuit against Farrell for the fight that led to tour abruptly ending. Navarro sued Farrell for assault and battery, while Avery and Perkins reportedly supported the suit with claims of negligence, emotional distress and breach of contract. They collectively blamed the “continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell” for Jane’s Addiction’s demise.
Farrell quickly filed a countersuit, alleging a “years-long bullying campaign … involving harassing him onstage” that ultimately pushed him to his limit.
While all may have since been forgiven, the indie rockers’ statement on Wednesday gave no indication Jane’s Addiction would resume their aborted tour.
“We now look forward to the future as we embark on our separate musical and creative endeavors,” Farrell’s former colleagues wrote.
They too expressed gratitude for having been a part of the band responsible for hits including “Jane Says” and “Been Caught Stealing.”
