Slipknot is being accused by Joey Jordison estate of profiting from the drummer's death.
In the new lawsuit, filed in June by Steamroller LLC (via NME ), his estate claims that Slipknot continued to use Jordison's name and personal belongings "in a traveling Slipknot museum called Knotfest [at the festival of the same name] and lined their pockets with profits from Jordison's devoted fanbase."
Jordison, who founded the metal band in 1995 alongside Paul Gray and Shawn “Clown” Crahan , was fired from the band in 2013, with the band citing personal reasons. Jordison later revealed that he suffered from the neurological disease transverse myelitis. He passed away in July 2021 at the age of 46.
“After abruptly expelling Jordison from Slipknot in 2013, [ Corey ] Taylor and Crahan expressly promised in a written agreement to return all of Jordison’s belongings in exchange for Jordison’s promise to release certain claims against them,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit also describes Jordison's removal from the band: “The callousness of Jordison’s dismissal and other mistreatment at the hands of Crahan and Taylor has been widely publicized and criticized by the band’s fans. Since the 1990s, Jordison dedicated his life to making Slipknot a metal sensation, from which Crahan and Taylor profited handsomely. It made no sense that Crahan and Taylor would treat Jordison with such disdain, especially in light of Jordison’s declining health.”
The allegations continue, this time regarding the reaction of the rest of the band after Jordison's death. "Perhaps worst of all is that Crahan and Taylor publicly lied to fans, claiming they had contacted Jordison's family to check on them and express their condolences and love for Jordison after his death. This was completely false and deeply upsetting for Jordison's family to read such a blatant lie online. It's clear that Taylor and Crahan didn't really care about Jordison or his family; they were only concerned with generating publicity and sales for the new album."
Responding to the case, Slipknot's legal team requested that the lawsuit be dismissed. "The defendants generally deny any and all allegations of the alleged claim set forth in the Plaintiff's First Amended Claim and further deny that the Plaintiff is entitled to any redress," they stated.
Slipknot and the new drummer
In early November, Slipknot announced the departure of drummer Jay Weinberg , and fans have been speculating about who could replace him ever since.
According to Radio Rock , a theory that has gained considerable traction online is that the new drummer could be Jeramie Kling , who is leaving Venom Inc. and recently posted on Instagram with the hashtag “#im666”. Some fans have interpreted the hashtag as a reference to the track “Heretic Anthem” from the album Iowa .
Last Monday, the 27th, however, Corey Taylor used his X account ( formerly Twitter ) to comment on the rumors, denying that Kling is the new drummer for Slipknot. “To everyone speculating about our new drummer… It’s not him. Stop letting him troll you. He’s not even on the list. #heisnot666,” wrote the vocalist.
While the new Slipknot member hasn't been chosen yet, Jay Weinberg recently commented on his departure from the band , saying he was "caught off guard" when he received the fateful phone call. According to the band, the members would be going their separate ways due to a "creative decision .
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