Joey Jordison’s estate suing Slipknot for profiting off his death

The estate of founding Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison is suing the band, accusing them of profiting off his death and failing to return his possessions. 

• READ MORE: The NME Big Read: Slipknot: “Nobody created us except us – we have always drawn our own map” 

Jordison, who founded the metal band in 1995 alongside Paul Gray and Shawn “Clown” Crahan, was fired from the band in 2013, with the band citing personal reasons. Jordison later revealed that he suffered from the neurological disease transverse myelitis. He passed away in July 2021 at the age of 46. 

In the new lawsuit, filed in June by Steamroller LLC, his estate claims that Slipknot continued to use Jordison’s name and personal belongings “in a travelling 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 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 alleges. 

“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 suit also describes Jordison’s removal from the band: “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.” 

It continues with allegations about the rest of the band’s reaction following Jordison’s death. “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.” 

Responding to the case, Slipknot’s legal team have asked for the suit to be dismissed. “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,” they said. 

Slipknot released their seventh and most recent studio album, ‘The End, So Far’, in September 2022. 

The band parted ways with drummer Jay Weinberg in November, sharing an official statement on social media claiming that they were “intent on evolving”, and made the “creative decision” that Weinberg will leave the band. His departure was 10 years after he joined the line-up, and just months after keyboardist Craig Jones left the group in June. 

The band recently added a second London show to their 25th anniversary UK tour next year. The masked metal band will play a run of dates across Europe in December 2024, including arena shows in Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and London. See full details below and get your tickets here. 

DECEMBER 2024

14 – First Direct Arena, Leeds

15 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow

17 – Co-op Live Arena, Manchester

18 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham

20 – The O2, London

21 – The O2, London