Perry Farrell has broken his silence following his onstage brawl with guitarist Dave Navarro that has led to Jane's Addiction cancelling the rest of their tour.
via: NYP
The incident went down Friday during a Boston show, with a heated Farrell, 65, getting in Navarro’s face, throwing punches, and needing to be restrained by several crew members and bassist Eric Avery.
Farrell said Monday, “This weekend has been incredibly difficult, and after having the time and space to reflect, it is only right that I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday’s show.”
He continued, “Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation.”
Sources close to the situation exclusively told The Post that Farrell “has had a really difficult weekend digesting everything that’s happened since Friday.”
They said his wife “has been his rock for over two decades” and felt like she “needed to defend him,” which is why she put out her own statement on Instagram.
“Both of them know Perry prompted the situation onstage, and it was his responsibility to apologize,” the source stated.
As for Farrell, the insider added he’s “heartbroken at his actions,” adding he needs to prioritize himself right now.
“He realizes that he waited too long to prioritize his well-being. His exhaustion and the toll it has taken on both his physical and mental health has gone too far,” the insider told The Post. “He had the best of intentions heading out on tour with the band and feels like he’s let his fans and family down.”
The rock group canceled its Sunday show in Bridgeport, Conn., following the Friday night fight; however, the aftermath didn’t stop there.
On Monday, Jane’s Addiction canceled its remaining tour dates.
“To all the fans, the band have made the difficult decision to take some time away as a group,” the band said in a statement on its Instagram account.
“As such, they will be cancelling the remainder of the tour,” the message read, adding that fans will be refunded.
Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins, both 57, and Avery, 59, released a separate statement, blaming Farrell for the altercation and tour cancelation.
“Due to a continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell, we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to discontinue the current US tour,” they shared.
“Our concern for his personal health and safety as well as our own has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs,” they added.
“We deeply regret that we are not able to come through for all our fans who have already bought tickets. We can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis.”
Farrell’s bandmates concluded by sharing their “hearts are broken.”
Jane’s Addiction was performing at the Leader Bank Pavilion when the concert erupted in chaos.
While singing “Ocean Size,” Farrell became visibly agitated and shouting at the audience and his band before taking his anger out on Navarro.
The frontman began ramming his shoulder into the guitarist before throwing punches at him. That’s when others intervened and removed Farrell from the stage.
The band immediately issued an apology, prompting Farrell’s wife, Etty Lau Farrell, to address the situation and shed light on what led to his outburst.
She claimed he grew aggravated when the instruments started drowning out his voice.
Etty Lau alleged that when the three band members left the stage, Avery “walked up to Perry, upstage, in the dark, behind [sound technician Dan Cleary], 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 breakdown and cried and cried,” she wrote.
Jane’s Addiction was formed in 1985 in Los Angeles. It quickly became one of the most successful alternative rock bands of the ’90s.
The Grammy-nominated group had an initial farewell tour in 1991. Their 2024 tour marked the reunion of the four original members after Avery returned to the band and Navarro came back after a long battle with COVID.
Jane’s Addiction played 17 shows before ending the tour.
There wasn’t always tension between Farrell and Navarro.
The frontman admitted to missing Navarro during the guitarist’s COVID battle.
“I wish I would have my dear guitar player around,” Farrell told The Post in 2022. “[But] I live to bring entertainment and art to the world. And whatever I can do to entertain you, to blow your mind, that’s what I live for.”
The band filled Navarro’s spot with several rockers, including Queen of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer.
“How do you go about finding a guitar player to fill the shoes of Dave Navarro? We had to put the word out to people that we knew, that we loved, and Troy fit the bill the best of all the people that we considered,” Farrell said.
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