'It Was Really Becoming a Struggle' - Tommy Lee Opens Up on Motley Crue's Split With Mick Mars

Tommy Lee opened up a bit on Motley Crue's split with Mick Mars during an appearance on The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan.

The drummer was the latest guest on the show. They discussed Motley's "cessation of touring" agreement back in 2014, their eventual comeback following the success of 2019's The Dirt and more.

During the second half of the conversation, Billy Corgan brought up the lawsuit longtime guitarist Mars filed against the band after they parted ways in late 2022. Since the suit had already been settled, Corgan asked if Lee had anything he wanted to say about the situation.

"For me, that whole thing was awkward and really hurtful to the point where people are saying untrue things and kind of doing that. I was like, 'God this sucks.' I'm not into that kind of stuff," Lee admitted.

"To echo what you were saying, there is only one Mick and he's an insane player. It saddens me, just on a personal level for him, that this insane spine disease slowly started dementing his shape."

The drummer acknowledged that Mars endured a lot of pain while Crue were on tour, even over a decade ago and that they watched him struggle throughout all of it. He recalled that Mars was the one who eventually went to the band and said he didn't want to tour anymore because he didn't feel like he could keep doing it.

"I always try to put myself in Mick's shoes and I got nothing but love for that guy — nothing but love. I just wish it didn't get so... and unfortunately that's just the way things go when people are threatened or hurt. They fight back," Lee continued. "But it's all good."

Lee revealed that performing with Mars had become a bit of a struggle at times and cited an example where he counted down the song "Live Wire" and the guitarist played "Wild Side" instead. He added that John 5, who stepped into the guitarist's role after he retired in 2022, was "the exact shot of adrenaline and life and energy and fire that we were missing."

READ MORE: The 11 Heaviest Motley Crue Songs

Check out the full conversation below.

Motley Crue's next show is scheduled for tomorrow night (July 31) in Holmdel, N.J. See all of their upcoming dates and ticket information on their website.

Tommy Lee Opens Up on Motley Crue's Split With Mick Mars

See our picks for the 75 greatest hard rock and metal guitarists of all time below.