'A Crazy Betrayal' — Nikki Sixx Defends Motley Crue From Mick Mars' Backing Track Accusations

Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx has defended the group's decision to part with co-founding guitarist Mick Mars in 2022 and called Mars' accusations that the band relies on backing tracks a "crazy betrayal."

Mars announced his retirement from touring with Motley Crue in October 2022, shortly after the conclusion of their Stadium Tour comeback run. A band statement cited Mars' "ongoing painful struggle with Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S.)" and painted the decision as amicable.

“[Mick] came to us and said, health-wise, he couldn’t fulfill his contract, and we let him out of the deal,” Sixx told the Los Angeles Times. “Then he sued us because he just said that he can’t tour. We were like, ‘Well, if you can’t tour, you can’t tour.’ I will probably come to that too someday.”

Sixx also posted scathing commentary about Mars on X (formerly Twitter) following the publication of the Times article. "Read this L.A. Times article and find out how Mick Mars lied to you to try and hurt the band," the bassist wrote. "Why would he betray you and us? Money? Wow - Read it and find out what happened to him and his dirty lawyers in arbitration. I’m actually ashamed of him. So should you be too - More to be revealed soon."

Nikki Sixx Calls Mick Mars' Backing Track Accusations a 'Crazy Betrayal'

Shortly after Motley Crue announced John 5 as Mars' replacement, the latter guitarist sued his bandmates, claiming they were ripping him off financially and trying to fully remove him from the group. Mars also claimed that Motley Crue used backing tracks during their 2022 tour, alleging that Sixx "did not play a single note on bass during the entire U.S. tour."

Sixx, on the contrary, said Motley Crue has been using audio enhancements in concert since 1985, but the band is always performing. “Anything we enhance the shows with, we actually played,” he explained. “If there are background vocals with my background vocals, and we have background singers to make it sound more like the record, that does not mean we’re not singing.”

“The fact of the matter is that Motley always plays live,” Motley Crue's attorney Sasha Frid wrote in a statement to the Times. “Even Mars’ expert witness in the litigation, who Mars hired and who reviewed hours of footage, agreed and said that the band played live while performing. He disputed Mars’ own claims.”

Sixx called Mars' accusations a "crazy betrayal" in light of their shared tumultuous history. "Saying he played in a band that didn’t play, it’s a betrayal to the band who saved his life,” he said. “People say things like, ‘Well, if you guys are really playing, then I need isolated tracks from band rehearsal.’ … It’s ludicrous.”

Nikki Sixx Praises Vince Neil's Recovery Efforts Following His Recent Stroke

Motley Crue kicked off their Las Vegas residency on Friday with their first of 10 shows at Dolby Live at Park MGM. The band postponed the residency from March and April so frontman Vince Neil could recover from a stroke he had around Christmas, which he revealed in an interview also published on Friday.

Sixx praised Neil's extensive recovery efforts and determination to get back onstage. “You can tell he’s working up the stamina, and a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, man, he’s not kicking ass like he used to,’ but it takes a lot of courage to have a doctor tell you you will probably never go onstage again and to fight through that," he said. "If he’s got some imperfect moments here and there, they’re getting erased as the days go with rehearsal.”