Dave Navarro breaks silence after dustup with Perry Farrell

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Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro has spoken out for the first time after he was attacked onstage by the band’s lead singer Perry Farrell during a show in Boston last week. 

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In his message, which was shared to his Instagram page and signed by his fellow bandmates, bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins, Navarro, 57, said the alternative rockers were cancelling the remaining dates on their Imminent Redemption outing “due to a continuing pattern of behaviour and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell.”

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“Our concern for his personal health and safety as well as our own has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs,” Navarro’s message continued. “We deeply regret that we are not able to come through for all our fans who have already bought tickets. We can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis. Our hearts are broken.” 

As the regrouped ’90s rock act was nearing the end of its set Friday night in Boston, Farrell, 65, was seen in videos posted to social media screaming into his mic before he lunged and took a swing at Navarro, bumping the guitarist with his shoulder and then trying to punch him. Farrell had to be restrained by crew members and Avery before he was ushered off stage.

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Farrell’s wife said that the altercation came after mounting “tension and animosity” during the group’s latest tour, which the quartet cancelled on Monday morning.

“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,” Etty Lau Farrell wrote in an Instagram message.

In her post, Etty added, “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.”

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In an emailed statement to Postmedia on Monday afternoon, Farrell apologized to Navarro and the band’s fans for his “actions during Friday’s show.”

“This weekend has been incredibly difficult and after having the time and space to reflect, it is only right that I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday’s show,” Farrell wrote. “Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behaviour, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation.”

In the wake of the attack, Jane’s scrapped the remaining dates on the tour, which included a show that was scheduled to take place at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage Wednesday night.

“The band have made the difficult decision to take some time away as a group,” the group wrote in a statement shared on social media. “As such, they will be cancelling the remainder of the tour.”

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In her lengthy explanation, Etty shared “why” she thought her husband, who she said was suffering from “tinnitus and a sore throat every night,” lashed out at Navarro onstage during Friday’s show at the Leader Bank Pavilion.

Etty said that Farrell “lost it” when audience members in the front started “cussing at him that the band was (playing) too loud and that they couldn’t hear him.”

After her husband’s outburst, Etty praised Navarro for looking “handsome and cool in the middle of a fight” and said that Farrell “was a crazed beast for the next half-an-hour.” But she said her husband eventually “did breakdown and cried and cried” when he realized the gravity of his actions.

After forming in the mid-1980s, the musicians parted ways in 1991 at the height of their popularity. Following their dissolution, Farrell formed Porno for Pyros with Jane’s reuniting off and on in the ensuing years.

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In 2022, Navarro skipped a reunion tour as he continued to battle long COVID. At the time, Farrell told Alternative Press that it wasn’t easy finding a temporary replacement for the six-time Grammy nominee.

“At first, there was a lot of weight on my shoulders,” he said. “This was our return tour right after COVID, and we didn’t have Dave. Jane’s is a unique band, and you can’t just grab any guitar player and they’ll pick it up. That’s Dave Navarro we’re talking about — those are big shoes to fill,” he said.

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