Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue has defended the band’s decision to part ways with co-founding guitarist Mick Mars in 2022, labeling Mars’ claims that the band relies on backing tracks as a “crazy betrayal.”

Mars announced his retirement from touring with Motley Crue in October 2022, shortly after their Stadium Tour comeback. A band statement cited Mars’ “ongoing painful struggle with Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S.)” and described the decision as amicable.

“[Mick] came to us and said, health-wise, he couldn’t fulfill his contract, and we let him out of the deal,” Sixx told the Los Angeles Times. “Then he sued us because he just said that he can’t tour. We were like, ‘Well, if you can’t tour, you can’t tour.’ I will probably come to that too someday.”

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Sixx also posted scathing commentary about Mars on X (formerly Twitter) following the publication of the Times article. “Read this L.A. Times article and find out how Mick Mars lied to you to try and hurt the band,” the bassist wrote. “Why would he betray you and us? Money? Wow – Read it and find out what happened to him and his dirty lawyers in arbitration. I’m actually ashamed of him. So should you be too – More to be revealed soon.”

Nikki Sixx Calls Mick Mars’ Backing Track Accusations a ‘Crazy Betrayal’

Shortly after Motley Crue announced John 5 as Mars’ replacement, the latter guitarist sued his bandmates, claiming they were financially exploiting him and attempting to fully remove him from the group. Mars also alleged that Motley Crue used backing tracks during their 2022 tour, claiming that Sixx “did not play a single note on bass during the entire U.S. tour.”

Sixx countered that Motley Crue has been using audio enhancements in concerts since 1985 but emphasized that the band always performs live. “Anything we enhance the shows with, we actually played,” he explained. “If there are background vocals with my background vocals, and we have background singers to make it sound more like the record, that does not mean we’re not singing.”

“The fact of the matter is that Motley Crue always plays live,” Sasha Frid, Motley Crue’s attorney, stated in a comment to the Times. “Even Mars’ expert witness in the litigation, who Mars hired and who reviewed hours of footage, agreed and said that the band played live while performing. He disputed Mars’ own claims.”

Sixx referred to Mars’ accusations as a “crazy betrayal” given their shared tumultuous history. “Saying he played in a band that didn’t play is a betrayal to the band who saved his life,” he said. “People say things like, ‘Well, if you guys are really playing, then I need isolated tracks from band rehearsal.’ … It’s ludicrous.”

Nikki Sixx Praises Vince Neil’s Recovery Efforts Following His Recent Stroke

Motley Crue commenced their Las Vegas residency on Friday with their first of ten shows at Dolby Live at Park MGM. The band postponed the residency from March and April so frontman Vince Neil could recover from a stroke he suffered around Christmas, which he revealed in an interview also published on Friday.

Sixx praised Neil’s extensive recovery efforts and determination to return to the stage. “You can tell he’s working up the stamina, and a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, man, he’s not kicking ass like he used to,’ but it takes a lot of courage to have a doctor tell you you will probably never go onstage again and to fight through that,” he said. “If he’s got some imperfect moments here and there, they’re getting erased as the days go with rehearsal.”