The viral Jane’s Addiction brawl prompted a “first person account” from the frontman’s wife as she explained why the band came to blows — and who “won the fight.”
After more than a decade, the alternative rock group came together over the summer to embark on a reunion tour that included new material from the classic foursome. However, reports of tensions escalated to a show-stopping fight Friday in Boston, Massachusetts when Perry Farrell “body checked” Dave Navarro.
Such was the account of the frontman’s wife, Etty Lau Farrell, who took to Instagram Saturday to explain what led her husband to go after the lead guitarist after performing “Ocean Size.”
“Rather than speculating, I thought to post a first person account of what happened on stage with [Jane’s Addiction] last night at the [Lender Pavilion] in Boston,” she detailed. “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.”
Video of the incident shared by the X account Rock History showed Farrell in Navarro’s face before taking a swing at the guitarist as others rushed in to break up the onstage dispute. This included bassist Eric Avery, who Etty noted had put her husband in a headlock.
Sad news in the band Jane’s Addiction.
Perry Farrell assaults Dave Navarro in the middle of a performance. pic.twitter.com/mXDvlO0p0o
— Rock History (@historyrock_) September 14, 2024
“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 wrote. “Perry 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 [playing] too loud and they couldn’t hear him, Perry lost it.”
After Farrell had boiled over from “screaming just to be heard,” Avery was said to have “won the fight” when he “walked up to Perry, upstage, in the dark, behind Dan, put Perry in a headlock and punched him in the stomach three times.”
“Perry was a crazed beast for the next half an hour — he finally did not calm down, but did breakdown and cried and cried,” explained Etty who added, “Eric, well he either didn’t understand what [deescalation] meant or took advantage of the situation and got in a few cheap shots on Perry.”
By the end of the video, three of the band members could be seen waving to the audience, including Avery who was said to have offered an apology to the fans that the show would be ending early.
While reactions were mixed on Etty’s description of the incident, with some believing she was enabling her husband’s behavior and others alleging substance abuse, many praised Navarro for keeping his head.
His wife is on Insta trying to say he was mad at Dave because the band’s sound was drowning out his vocals.
Like huh? Are we pretending that Dave mixes the show while he plays? Interesting.
So that is heartbreaking. Harder to get sober with people enabling.
— Kristin Thompson (@SpeakServeGrow) September 14, 2024
I wonder if Perry Farrell is ill? He hasn’t looked healthy in a long time. Hmmmm.
— Christopher Vviona. DEPLORABLE UNION MEMBER (@ChristopherVvio) September 14, 2024
Same. Hate to see it. I hope it’s just Artistic passion.
— jon (@JonsimsEth) September 15, 2024
Total lack of respect for their audience.
— John Paul Greeson (@outdoorsites) September 14, 2024
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
- Scott Presler says Trump in ‘best place’ to win critical battleground state - October 13, 2024
- ‘This is a big one!’ NBC’s Welker dismayed over poll showing Trump erases 5-point Harris lead - October 13, 2024
- Arkansas father charged with murder after locating missing daughter, 14, with her alleged rapist - October 13, 2024
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.