Joey Jordison’s Estate Sues Slipknot for Allegedly Profiting Off His Death

The estate of the late Joey Jordison has sued Slipknot members Corey Taylor and Shawn “Clown” Crahan for allegedly profiting off the drummer’s death, among other accusations.

The lawsuit was actually filed in June, but only just obtained by TMZ and Blabbermouth. The suit, filed by Steamroller, Inc., which is the successor in interest of Jordison, claims that Taylor and Crahan failed to return “at least 22 items” that were the property of the late drummer after “promising to return all of Jordison’s belongings.”

The complaint alleges that those items, including “musical instruments, gear, and wardrobe,” were used “in a traveling Slipknot museum called Knotfest and line[d] their pockets with profit off of Jordison’s devoted fanbase.”

The lawsuit argues that Taylor and Crahan had agreed to give Jordison back the items upon his ouster from Slipknot in 2013, and before his passing in 2021. It reads, in part:

“After abruptly kicking Jordison out of Slipknot in 2013, Taylor and 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 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.”

The legal filing goes on to say that Taylor and Crahan acted “callously” in using Jordison’s passing as a marketing tool for Slipknot’s 2022 album, The End, So Far:

“While family, friends, and fans mourned the loss of the legendary drummer, neither bandmate expressed condolences to Jordison’s family after his passing, Instead, Taylor and Crahan heartlessly sought to profit off of Jordison’s death. Slipknot released a new album in 2022 titled The End, So Far. Fan reviews of the album rarely miss the opportunity to lament Jordison’s absence. Taylor and Crahan callously used Jordison’s death as marketing for their new album. Taylor publicly dedicated The End, So Far to Jordison, claiming that the realization of Jordison’s passing ‘crept in’ while making the album. Taylor even acknowledged that he and Crahan had mistreated Jordison in an interview, telling fans that they ‘were hoping to mend fences with him, and it’s one of those things that tells you: whatever you need to do, do it now, because you never know when you’re gonna lose somebody.’ 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. 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.”

Furthermore, the complaint alleges that upon firing Jordison from the band, Taylor and Crahan didn’t show compassion for the drummer’s battle with the neurological disorder acute transverse myelitis. “[They] abruptly kicked Jordison out of Slipknot by e-mail,” the lawsuit reads.

It continues, “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.”

Taylor and Crahan responded to the lawsuit with their own legal documents denying the allegations and asking for the complaint to be dismissed.