Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee has opened up about the dramatic departure of guitarist Mick Mars from the band for the first time. He shared his candid thoughts in an appearance on The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan.
Lee addressed the painful circumstances surrounding Mars’ exit and the lawsuit that followed. He expressed both personal hurt over how the situation unfolded and deep empathy for his former bandmate.
“For me, that whole thing was awkward and really hurtful to the point where people are saying untrue things and kind of doing that,” Lee said. “And I was like, God, this sucks. I’m not into that kind of stuff, you know? I was like, ‘Why can’t we just all — you go do your thing, we’ll go do ours. It’s all cool.’ That part of it sucked. I guess you know that’s like a divorce or whatever. It sucks in any format.”
Lee went on to reflect on the physical toll that Mars’ degenerative bone disease had taken on the guitarist over the years. He described it as a deeply saddening experience to witness.
“I mean, there is only one Mick and he’s an insane player, and it saddens me just on a personal level for him that this insane bone disease or spine disease slowly started, you know, dementing his shape,” he continued. “He started locked into being hunched over — good thing it was forward instead of backwards. At least you’re looking at the guitar neck, right?”
Lee also revealed that it was ultimately Mars himself who approached the band saying he could no longer continue.
“It was a lot of pain and watching him struggle, and then all of a sudden, I think it takes a toll — and maybe his age too. You kind of mix all that in. He came to us saying like, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. I can’t,'” Lee said. “I always try to put myself in Mick’s shoes and, you know, I got nothing but love for that guy. Nothing but love. I just wish it didn’t get so — and then that’s just unfortunately the way things go. When people are threatened or hurt, you know, they fight back. But it’s all good, you know.”
This marks the first time Lee has spoken in such detail about Mars’ exit and the legal dispute that followed. The situation had already played out extensively in the courts — a chapter that ultimately concluded with a decisive outcome against the guitarist.
The condition at the center of Mars’ departure is ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic inflammatory spine disease that progressively affects posture and mobility. Mars had been living with the illness for decades. By 2022, it had advanced to the point where he announced he would step back from touring entirely. The band accepted his retirement from the road, but the relationship between Mars and his former bandmates quickly deteriorated from there.
In April 2023, Mars filed a lawsuit against Mötley Crüe in Los Angeles County Superior Court. He alleged that the band had moved to remove him as a significant stakeholder in the group’s corporate holdings following his retirement announcement. Mars held a 25% stake in the band’s business entities. He claimed the remaining members had conspired to cut his ownership share and withheld critical financial documents. The suit sought access to records from seven corporate entities linked to the band in preparation for arbitration.
The legal battle stretched nearly three years before reaching its conclusion. In January 2026, an arbitrator ruled comprehensively in Mötley Crüe’s favor, rejecting every claim Mars had brought against the band. The ruling found that Lee, Vince Neil, and Nikki Sixx had acted within their rights in removing Mars as an officer and director of the band’s corporate structure. Mars was additionally ordered to repay $244,000 to his former bandmates, representing a portion of a tour advance he had received for shows he did not complete.
The arbitration result effectively closed the book on one of the most contentious splits in rock history. What began as a health-driven retirement evolved into a prolonged legal confrontation that left little goodwill on either side. Lee’s recent comments suggest that, at least personally, he has chosen to look back on his former bandmate’s tenure with more sorrow than bitterness — even as the courts rendered their own unambiguous verdict.
