The situation between Mötley Crüe and guitarist Mick Mars has turned litigious, with Mars suing his bandmates over his claims that he’s being forced out of the band.

It all started in October 2022 when Mars issued a statement announcing he was retiring from touring with the band, due to his ongoing struggle with Ankylosing Spondylitis, a degenerative disease that affects the spine.

According to legal documents obtained by Variety, Mars is accusing the other members of the band — singer Vince Neil, bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee — of “gaslighting” him in an attempt to kick him out of the band.

READ MORE: Mick Mars Retires From Touring With Mötley Crüe

Mars alleges that the band is demanding that he sign a severance agreement that would divest him of all Mötley Crüe’s future earnings, in return for a five-per-cent stake in the group’s 2023 tour, on which he’s not performing.

Meanwhile, Mars’ lawsuit is also delivering plenty of dirt about his bandmates, claiming that Sixx belittled him and insulted his guitar playing, and that the other members of the band regularly “mime” along to prerecorded tracks in concert — and that he was the only member of the band to perform live throughout.

The other members of Motley Crue have responded, disputing Mars’ characterization that they’re trying to fire him — because they’re taking the position that when he announced his retirement from touring, he effectively quit the band.

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“After the last tour, Mick publicly resigned from Mötley Crüe,” said Sasha Frid, the band’s litigation attorney, told Variety. “Despite the fact that the band did not owe Mick anything — and with Mick owing the band millions in advances that he did not pay back — the band offered Mick a generous compensation package to honour his career with the band. Manipulated by his manager and lawyer, Mick refused and chose to file this ugly public lawsuit.”

While Mars’ original announcement contended that he “will continue as a member of the band, but can no longer handle the rigors of the road,” the rest of the band begs to differ.

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“Retiring from touring is resigning from the band,” said Frid. “The band’s primary function is to tour and perform concerts. And as you saw from the amendment, if a shareholder resigns, he cannot receive any compensation from touring — which is what Mick is trying to get. It’s clear-cut that Mick is not entitled to any more money.”

Sixx shared his thoughts on Mars’ lawsuit in a scathing tweet.

“Sad day for us and we don’t deserve this considering how many years we’ve been propping him up,” Sixx wrote, blaming the guitarist’s lawyers and management for “damaging him.”