Joey Jordison's Estate Sues Slipknot For Profiting Off His Death

Joey Jordison's estate is suing Slipknot for profiting off the death of their former drummer. Though Jordison was fired from the band in 2013, the lawsuit claims that the band continued to use his name and personal belongings “in a traveling Slipknot museum called Knotfest and lined their pockets with profit off of Jordison’s devoted fanbase.”

“After abruptly kicking Jordison out of Slipknot in 2013, [Corey] Taylor and [Shawn] 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,” the suit states. “The agreement contained a non-exclusive list of broad categories of items that [Taylor and Crahan] represented were in their possession and that they would return to Jordison. [Taylor and Crahan] purported to comply with the agreement by returning certain items to Jordison but, 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.”

It also alleges "mistreatment" by Crahan and Taylor in regards to Jordison being dismissed from the band, stating: “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.”

“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," it continued. "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 band's legal team responded to the lawsuit, asking for its dismissal. “Defendants generally deny each and every allegation and purported claim set forth in Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint and further deny that Plaintiff is entitled to any relief whatsoever,” read a statement.

Slipknot is actually looking for another new drummer after abruptly parting ways with Jay Weinberg in November. They're also plotting a 25th anniversary tour scheduled for later this year.