Mötley Crüe's Mick Mars Sues Band After Tour Exit Due to Health, Says They Attempted to Fire Him

Mars stopped touring with the band in September of last year due to "horrifically debilitating ankylosing spondylitis" but still planned to record with them

Mick Mars, a founding member and guitarist of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, has filed a lawsuit against the band and their touring companies for allegedly attempting to oust him.

Mars, 71, filed the lawsuit on Thursday in Los Angeles County's Superior Court, where he requests that seven organizations hand over corporate and business documents to ensure he received his rightful shares after he decided to stop touring last September due to his health, according to documents obtained by PEOPLE.

"After 41 years as a founding member of the band Mötley Crüe, Petitioner Mick Mars, the lead guitar player and backing vocalist for the band, announced that, due to his horrifically debilitating ankylosing spondylitis, he could no longer tour with the band," the documents read.

Related:Mötley Crüe's Vince Neil Sets the Record Straight in New Documentary: People 'Think They Know Me'

It continued, "He made it clear, however, that he could still perform with them in a residency situation, could still record with them, and could definitely still be a part of the band, but that he just could no longer physically handle the rigors of the road."

The lawsuit goes on to claim that his band members — which consist of Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee — allegedly held an emergency shareholders meeting to "throw Mars out of the band, fire him as a director of the corporation, fire him as an officer of the corporation and take away his shares of the corporation."

When he didn't "go away quietly," they allegedly proceeded to fire him from six additional band corporations and LLCs, where each member splits the profits evenly.

Per the lawsuit, Mars informed the band before their world tour with Def Leppard began that due to his pain, the United States leg would be his last tour. He also allegedly told them he would not be retiring and that he would be available for recording.

Mars, whose real name is Robert Alan Deal, is also claiming that Sixx, 64, "gaslighted" him by telling him that his guitar playing was "subpar" due to his illness, which he was diagnosed with at 27.

"Sixx's gaslighting came to a crescendo during the stadium tour, when he, knowing that this was Mars's last tour as a result of his increasingly painful and debilitating AS, and apparently already plotting to force him out of the band and take his shares, repeatedly told Mars that he was playing the wrong chords, and that fans were complaining about his playing," the lawsuit read.

"Astonishingly, Sixx made these claims about Mars's playing while he [Sixx] did not play a single note on bass during the entire U.S. tour," the lawsuit read. "Ironically, 100% of Sixx's bass parts were nothing but recordings. Sixx was seen fist pumping in the air with his strumming hand, while the bass part was playing."

Mars also claimed in the documents that Neil's vocals were partially recorded.

A representative for Mars and Mötley Crüe did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Mötley Crüe reunited in 2019 when they announced The Stadium Tour, which kicked off in June of last year.

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Read the original article on People.