Metal Anarchy

According to new reports from TMZ and Blabbermouth, the estate of Slipknot’s late drummer Joey Jordison have filed a lawsuit against the band. The complaint accused the group of trying to profit off his death despite “abruptly” firing him via e-mail back in 2013.

The lawsuit, which was filed by Steamroller, LLC in June, says Slipknot have been holding on to “at least 22 items” belonging to the drummer, despite “promising to return all of Jordison’s belongings.” It went on to say that frontman Corey Taylor, percussionist M. Shawn “Clown” Crahan and associated companies failed to return various pieces of “musical instruments, gear and wardrobe” and that they were even included in the Slipknot museum during Knotfest. The suit claims the move was made to “line their pockets with profit off of Jordison’s devoted fanbase.”

The complaint also added:

“After abruptly kicking Jordison out of Slipknot in 2013, Taylor and Crahan expressly promised in a written agreement to return all of Jordison’s belongings in exchange for Jordison’s promise to release certain claims against them. The agreement contained a non-exclusive list of broad categories of items that [Taylor and Crahan] represented were in their possession and that they would return to Jordison. [Taylor and Crahan] purported to comply with the agreement by returning certain items to Jordison but, unbeknownst to Jordison, [they] had executed the agreement with no intention of performing their obligations thereunder, and knowingly concealed from Jordison that they possessed numerous other items belonging to Jordison that they never returned to him.”

According to the lawsuit, Jordison, Crahan, and late bassist Paul Gray launched Slipknot in 1995 and officially formed the Slipknot Partnership in 1999 alongside Taylor. However, in 2010, Jordison started suffering from acute transverse myelitis, a neurological disease that caused him to lose the use of his left leg. As his condition worsened in 2013, Taylor and Crahan “abruptly kicked Jordison out of Slipknot by e-mail.” The lawsuit continued:

“The callousness of Jordison’s firing and other mistreatment at the hands of Crahan and Taylor have been widely reported and criticized by fans of the band. Since the 1990s, Jordison had dedicated his life to making Slipknot a metal sensation, from which Crahan and Taylor handsomely profited. It made no sense why Crahan and Taylor would treat Jordison with such disdain, especially in light of Jordison’s declining health.”

In 2015, the Slipknot Partnership, Slipknot, Inc., Crahan, and Taylor entered into a release agreement with Jordison to buy out his interest in the Slipknot Partnership. As part of the deal, Crahan and Taylor were supposed to return “any property, including musical gear or equipment, belonging to” Jordison, but have allegedly held on to it. The lawsuit also blasted Taylor and Crahan for their reactions and alleged exploitation of Jordison’s death in 2021:

“While family, friends, and fans mourned the loss of the legendary drummer, neither bandmate expressed condolences to Jordison’s family after his passing. Instead, Taylor and Crahan heartlessly sought to profit off of Jordison’s death. Slipknot released a new album in 2022 titled ‘The End, So Far’. Fan reviews of the album rarely miss the opportunity to lament Jordison’s absence. Taylor and Crahan callously used Jordison’s death as marketing for their new album. Taylor publicly dedicated ‘The End, So Far’ to Jordison, claiming that the realization of Jordison’s passing ‘crept in’ while making the album. Taylor even acknowledged that he and Crahan had mistreated Jordison in an interview, telling fans that they ‘were hoping to mend fences with him, and it’s one of those things that tells you: whatever you need to do, do it now, because you never know when you’re gonna lose somebody.’ Perhaps worst of all, Crahan and Taylor publicly lied to fans that they had contacted Jordison’s family to check on them and express their condolences and love for Jordison in the wake of his passing. This was utterly false, and deeply upsetting for Jordison’s family to read such a blatant lie on the internet. It is clear that Taylor and Crahan did not actually care about Jordison or his family; they cared only about drumming up publicity and sales of the new album.”

Slipknot have since responded with legal documents of their own, denying all of the claims against them. They are currently seeking to have the case dismissed.