Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee has spoken candidly about the dramatic departure of founding guitarist Mick Mars and the legal battle that followed. He shared his perspective on one of rock’s most contentious band splits during an appearance on The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan. Lee reflected on the emotional toll the situation took on everyone involved, describing it as feeling like a “painful divorce.”
Lee expressed his frustration with how the situation unfolded publicly. Misinformation and hurtful comments made the process even more difficult. “For me that whole thing was awkward and really hurtful to the point where people are saying, you know, untrue things and kind of doing that,” he explained. “And I was like, God, this sucks. I’m not into that kind of stuff, you know? I was like, ‘Why can’t we just all you go do your thing, we’ll go do ours. It’s all cool.’ That part of it sucked. I guess you know that’s like a divorce or whatever. It sucks in any format.”
Lee acknowledged Mars’ exceptional talent and expressed genuine sympathy for his former bandmate’s health struggles. Mars had been battling a degenerative spine condition that progressively affected his ability to perform. “I mean there is only one Mick and he’s an insane player and it saddens me just on a personal level for him that this insane, you know, bone disease or spine disease slowly started, you know, dementing his shape,” Lee said. “You know, he’s start locked into being hunched over, you know, good thing it was forward instead of backwards. At least you’re looking at the guitar neck, right?”
The situation became increasingly difficult as Mars’ condition worsened. He ultimately decided he could no longer continue touring with the band. Lee described witnessing his bandmate’s struggle and the difficult decision that followed. “It was a lot of pain and watching him struggle and then all of a sudden you know I think it takes a toll on and maybe his age too. You kind of mix all that in. He started to, you know, he came to us saying like, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. I can’t,’ you know.”
Mars’ health battle stemmed from ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic inflammatory disease that progressively fuses the spine. He had been managing this condition since he was 27 years old. The degenerative nature of the disease eventually caused severe spinal damage, resulting in what is medically known as a “bamboo spine,” a characteristic feature of advanced ankylosing spondylitis. This condition forced Mars to step back from touring in 2022, marking the beginning of a significant transition for the legendary band.
The departure triggered a complex legal dispute when Mars filed a lawsuit against his bandmates in 2023. He claimed he was being forced out of the band and that his profit share had been drastically reduced from 25 percent to just 5 percent. The lawsuit centered on whether Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, and Vince Neil had the right to remove him from both his touring role and his business positions within Mötley Crüe’s corporate structure. An arbitrator ultimately ruled in favor of the band, determining they were within their rights to remove Mars from his roles as both a band member and an officer or director of the band’s business entity. The arbitration also found that Mars owed the band approximately $244,000 after accounting for tour advances and a buyout for his ownership stake.
Despite the legal outcome, Lee emphasized that his feelings toward Mars remained unchanged. He harbored no ill will toward his former bandmate. “I always try to put myself in Mick’s shoes and you know, I got nothing but love for that guy. Nothing but love. I just wish it didn’t get so, you know, and then that’s just unfortunately that’s just the way things go. When people are threatened or hurt, you know, they fight back. But it’s all good, you know.” Lee’s comments reflect the complicated nature of the split. They acknowledge both the personal respect he maintains for Mars and the inevitable tensions that arose when a founding member’s health forced a fundamental change to the band’s future.
