Mötley Crüe condemn Reelz docu-series portrayal, send cease-and-desist

June 18, 2019

Mötley Crüe are riding on the success of the Netflix biopic The Dirt, but apparently, they’re also dealing with some legal issues involving another documentary.

This week, the Reelz documentary series “Breaking The Band” aired an episode on the history of the band, and both Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx spoke out.

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Neil first posted a photo on Instagram before the show even aired.

“Just seen this add. Never seen the show but I hope it’s accurate. Tune in,” he wrote.

View this post on Instagram

Just seen this add. Never seen the show but I hope it’s accurate. Tune in.

A post shared by Vince Neil (@thevinceneil) on Jun 15, 2019 at 1:45pm PDT

He then gave a full review, which was not exactly positive.

“Breaking the band, fucking memories from a manager Doug Thaler who can’t remember that he’s the one who actually broke up the band,” he begins. The band didn’t break up because of me racing. It broke up because he was (too) much of a pussy who didn’t just say, ‘hey guys let’s take a week off and come back with cooler heads.’”

“He called me an hour later and said I was out of the band! Great Management!!! What he didn’t say was instead of me going racing I put out a top 10 single with ‘Your Invited’ oops he forgot! Then an album called Exposed! Oops forgot again! No wonder he was fired shortly after.”

He is referring to his 1992 departure from the band and the way Reelz portrayed it.

View this post on Instagram

#breakingtheband #myreview #motleycrue

A post shared by Vince Neil (@thevinceneil) on Jun 17, 2019 at 4:33pm PDT

Sixx then took to Twitter to talk about the episode.

“Breaking the band was not authorized by Mötley Crüe. Our lawyers sent them a cease-and-desist and further action will be taken.@ReelzChannel Is the bottom of the barrel,” he first wrote.

“Should @ReelzChannel be liable for putting out shows without so many artist approval? I am very disappointed that they think they can tell our LIFE story just to sell advertising ( mostly incorrect ) and without any bodies persmission,” he continued.

Breaking the band was not authorized by Mötley Crüe. Our lawyers sent them a cease-and-desist and further action will be taken.@ReelzChannel Is the bottom of the barrel.

— xxıS ıʞʞıN (@NikkiSixx) June 18, 2019

Should @ReelzChannel be liable for putting out shows without so many artist approval? I am very disappointed that they think they can tell our LIFE story just to sell advertising ( mostly incorrect ) and without any bodies persmission.

— xxıS ıʞʞıN (@NikkiSixx) June 18, 2019

Many fans sided with the band and condemned the docu-series.

I refuse to watch it. If people want to understand more about you guys, they need to read The Dirt..

— MichelleLynn (@SunnySky39) June 18, 2019

Watched it and was pretty disappointed on some parts,complete opposite of everything I read in The Dirt,and don’t even get me started on the actors. Only good parts were seeing some clips of you boys. Go get em’!

— ??????? (@1983SATD666) June 18, 2019

I’m surprised @MrTommyLand hasn’t said anything yet. Doc was wrong with what he said. That pissed me off.

— Sandi (@sandimel) June 18, 2019

Yes they should! I stand with you @NikkiSixx ?❤️?

— Always4Trump???? (@JJsNini) June 18, 2019

As previously stated, the biopic The Dirt, which is based on the group memoir of the same name, just hit Netflix. The success of the movie has caused young people to become especially interested with the band.

The band are celebrating a 64 percent increase in Spotify streams over the last month from 18 to 34-year-olds, according to Variety.

The Dirt sparked so much interest it is now the highest audience rated Netflix film on Rotten Tomatoes. In light of their massive re-growth, the band released a video piecing together interview clips, live footage and stats about the film.

In that time, Crüe tracks have been streamed 73.8 million times on Spotify and nearly 30 million times on Apple Music.

The movie’s soundtrack charted No. 1 on iTunes’ all genres chart in both the U.S. and Sweden and on rock charts elsewhere.

The band’s manager, Alan Kovac, says the movie “is bringing Motley’s music into the homes, universities dorms and handheld devices of the streaming generation, some of which only knew Motley Crue as a cool t-shirt.”

The band are enjoying success in all aspects of their enterprise, from the movie to the music and more. The Dirt also sent the autobiography it’s based off near the top of the New York Times Best Sellers list. They’ve also seen the film’s soundtrack hit the Billboard 200’s top 10 and an enormous spike in streaming.

While Mötley Crüe have been enjoying their success, they’ve had to deal with claims their story is embellished.

Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee claims the infamous scene where Ozzy snorts ants isn’t entirely accurate. The guitarist says the urine-licking part of the story is real, but the Prince of Darkness didn’t snort ants.

Lee also claimed Mötley Crüe tried to replace guitarist Mick Mars because he was “better looking” and “better [at] playing.”

Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx called out the guitarist saying Lee was just trying to get attention from their success. Sixx also shot down the claim they tried to replace Mars, calling it a “make-believe story.”

Despite all of the controversy the film has caused, it’s undeniable how successful it’s been. You can watch the full video breakdown of The Dirt‘s success below.

Other The Dirt news

While Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt sent the band back to success, it has faced its fair share of criticism.

The film’s latest critic is Courtney Love, who called the movie the “dumbest Netflix film ever,” but drummer Tommy Lee has shot back.

Love was asked in an interview what some of her favorite things to do with her girlfriends were, and she retold her night trashing the biopic with her buddies.

“We watched the dumbest Netflix film ever called ‘The Dirt’. It’s so stupid and vile about women, and just fucking dumb. It was super fun to groan together,” says Love. “I was like, ‘When’s Ozzy gonna snort the ant?’ Then, within seconds, he snorted the ant. Then the Nikki Sixx character was like, ‘I have a new girlfriend. She’s sweet. She’s wonderful.’ I was like, ‘And her name is heroin.’ Two seconds later: ‘Her name is heroin.’”

After the interview made its way around the internet, Lee responded to the former Hole musician.

“Hey @Courtney When’s your movie coming out? Oh wait…. Never!!!!!”