Stone Temple Pilots Sue Scott Weiland; Weiland Hits Back With Open Letter

The remaining members of 90s alt rock gods Stone Temple Pilots are suing their former singer Scott Weiland, saying he’s misusing the band’s name and asking that a judge block him from playing the band’s songs or using their name.

STP, who fired Weiland back in February and replaced him with Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, say their former frontman would only talk to his bandmates through lawyers or managers and was chronically late to shows, costing them potential earnings and opportunities. The lawsuit also states that Weiland had problems with addiction, gave poor performances, and had his lawyer interfere with radio airplay of their latest single, Out Of Time. The remaining STP’ers want Weiland prevented from playing their material at his solo shows and even from calling himself an ex-member. Ouch.

Weiland has hit back on his Facebook page with the claim that it’s his former band members who should drop the Stone Temple Pilots tag, saying:



“First of all they don’t have the legal right to call themselves STP because I’m still a member of the band. And more importantly, they don’t have the ethical right to call themselves Stone Temple Pilots because it’s misleading and dishonest to the millions of fans that have followed us for so many years.”

Weiland has previously said that the band can’t legally tour as STP without him due to “certain clauses”. The lawsuit has revealed that the band entered into agreements in 1996 and 2010 preventing former members from using the Stone Temple Pilots name, which might explain why Weiland has been insisting he’s still in the band.

We’ve got a cost-effective idea for solving this whole misunderstanding. How about the remaining band members and Chester Bennington rename themselves Stone Temple Park, all parties continue to play STP songs, and the fans can decide who they want to see?

(via Billboard)

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