Perry Farrell issues apology after Jane’s Addiction cancels tour amid on-stage fight with Dave Navarro

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: We know that the most iconic rock bands can have their bad days, and Jane’s Addiction is no exception. Frontman Perry Farrell found himself in hot water after an onstage altercation with guitarist Dave Navarro during the band’s reunion tour.

The dramatic fallout led to the cancellation of the remaining dates on the tour, and Farrell has since issued a public apology that paints a pretty intense picture of what went down.

Farrell didn’t mince words as he apologized for what unfolded on stage. “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 said.

“Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation,” he added.

The apology came just a few hours after Jane’s Addiction dropped the bombshell announcement that the rest of their tour was canceled. A statement from the band was followed by a separate note from Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins, and bassist Eric Avery — which gave some insight into what was really going on behind the scenes.

Bandmates speak out about incident

Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins, and Eric Avery revealed that PerryFarrell ’s behavior had been part of a “continuing pattern” and that his mental health struggles had made things untenable for the band.

The three added, “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… 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.”

That night’s show in Bridgeport, Connecticut — slated to take place at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater — was scrapped, marking an unfortunate halt to what was supposed to be a big reunion tour.

The band, with their classic lineup—Farrell, Navarro, Avery, and Perkins—hadn’t toured together in 14 years. Fans were understandably disappointed, but the drama that led to the abrupt end of the tour wasn’t just a one-off situation.

Tensions had reportedly been brewing for a while, with Farrell’s long-winded crowd interactions reportedly annoying Navarro. But it was at their Boston show on September 13 that everything finally boiled over.

During the song 'Mountain Song', Farrell shouted at Navarro, and things only got worse during 'Three Days', where the two continued bickering onstage. By the time they got to 'Ocean Size', the tension had reached its peak. A visibly agitated Farrell walked up to Navarro and rammed his shoulder into the guitarist’s back.

As if that wasn’t enough, Farrell continued yelling at Navarro and even punched him in the shoulder. At that point, several crew members stepped in to prevent things from escalating further and held Farrell back as he tried to go at Navarro again.

Eventually, both Farrell and Navarro left the stage — cutting the show short after only 11 songs. Fans were left stunned. The tour that had started in Las Vegas just a month earlier was already in jeopardy.

Etty Lau Farrell chimes in

The day after the Boston show, Perry Farrell’s wife Etty Lau Farrell took to Instagram to give her side of the story. In a candid post, she wrote a “first-person account” of what happened that night. According to Etty, the tension between the band members had been growing for some time.

She wrote, “Clearly there had been a lot of tension and animosity between the members.. the magic that made the band so dynamic. Well, the dynamite was lit. Perry got up in Dave’s face and body-checked him.” 

Etty explained that Perry had been frustrated with the stage volume, which he felt was drowning out his voice.

“Perry’s frustration had been mounting, night after night, he felt that the stage volume had been extremely loud and his voice was being drowned out by the band," she said, adding that her husband had been “suffering from tinnitus and a sore throat every night.”

 

“But when the audience in the first row, started complaining up to Perry cussing at him that the band was planning too loud and that they couldn’t hear him, Perry lost it,” she continued. 

According to her, "The band started the song Ocean before Perry was ready and did the count off... The stage volume was so loud at that point, that Perry couldn’t hear past the boom and the vibration of the instruments, and by the end of the song, he wasn’t singing, he was screaming just to be heard."

The situation got even more physical than what was seen on stage. Etty claimed that Avery had put Perry in a headlock and punched him in the stomach three times. She described how a crew member eventually pulled Avery away, after which Avery “walked off to the front of the stage to apologize to [the] audience for the show ending early.”

There hasn’t been much word on whether the band will go forward with their remaining tour dates, including a show scheduled for Toronto on September 18, People reported.