The death of Joey Jordison, Slipknot‘s original drummer and one of the band’s founders, sent shockwaves through the metal community in 2021. Now, a new twist in the story has fans scratching their heads and possibly questioning the band’s actions.
The Jordison‘s estate has filed a lawsuit against Slipknot, alleging that the band exploited his death for promotional purposes surrounding their latest album, “The End, So Far”, failing to give back over at least 22 items belonging to the drummer after promising to return all of his belongings.
The lawsuit, obtained by Blabbermouth, claims that Slipknot members Corey Taylor and Michael Shawn “Clown” 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. According to the document they failed to give back “musical instruments, gear, and wardrobe” belonging to Joey, and “unbeknownst to Jordison, they had executed the agreement with no intention of performing their obligations thereunder, and knowingly concealed from Jordison that they possessed numerous other items belonging to Jordison that they never returned to him.”
The lawsuit also claims that Crahan and Taylor callously fired Jordison over his declining health, via email in 2021: “The callousness of Jordison‘s firing and other mistreatment at the hands of Crahan and Taylor have been widely reported and criticized by fans of the band. Since the 1990s, Jordison had dedicated his life to making Slipknot a metal sensation, from which Crahan and Taylor handsomely profited. It made no sense why Crahan and Taylor would treat Jordison with such disdain, especially in light of Jordison‘s declining health.”
The lawsuit also questions Taylor and Crahan‘s actions during the months following Jordison‘s tragic passing in July 2021: “While family, friends, and fans mourned the loss of the legendary drummer, neither bandmate expressed condolences to Jordison‘s family after his passing”
The estate further alleges that the band made insensitive statements about Jordison, seemingly to garner attention for their latest album and that they allegedly framed “The End, So Far” as a tribute to Jordison, despite his strained relationship with the band at the time of his passing.
“Instead, Taylor and Crahan heartlessly sought to profit off of Jordison‘s death. Slipknot released a new album in 2022 titled “The End, So Far”. Fan reviews of the album rarely miss the opportunity to lament Jordison‘s absence. Taylor and Crahan callously used Jordison‘s death as marketing for their new album. Taylor publicly dedicated “The End, So Far” to Jordison, claiming that the realization of Jordison‘s passing ‘crept in’ while making the album. Taylor even acknowledged that he and Crahan had mistreated Jordison in an interview, telling fans that they ‘were hoping to mend fences with him, and it’s one of those things that tell you: whatever you need to do, do it now because you never know when you’re gonna lose somebody.’ Perhaps worst of all, Crahan and Taylor publicly lied to fans that they had contacted Jordison‘s family to check on them and express their condolences and love for Jordison in the wake of his passing. This was utterly false, and deeply upsetting for Jordison‘s family to read such a blatant lie on the internet. It is clear that Taylor and Crahan did not actually care about Jordison or his family; they cared only about drumming up publicity and sales of the new album.”
The lawsuit further claims that Taylor and Crahan “have continued to profit off Jordison‘s death and his grieving fanbase to this day, by displaying Jordison‘s belongings at a traveling Slipknot museum called Knotfest. The museum has made numerous tour stops over the course of several years and Taylor and Crahan have profited handsomely from Jordison‘s fans’ willingness to pay admission fees to view Jordison‘s iconic belongings in person.”
Slipknot has responded to the lawsuit denying the claims, and asking for it to be dismissed.
