Perry Farrell's wife, Etty Lau, said her husband is seeking medical help and taking time to "heal" following his onstage fight with his Jane's Addiction bandmate, Dave Navarro.
In an Instagram post on Sept. 21, in which she shared an image with the words, "Love. Kindness. Compassion. Grace," Etty Lau Farrell wrote a lengthly caption stating that she and Perry were "beyond grateful and so very humbled" by the love and support from fans.
"Like attracts like. Kindness attracts kindness. As you know, Perry is the gentlest of souls," she wrote in part. "We are equally astonished at Perry’s physical outburst as you are — but you must know that Perry must had been pushed to his absolute limit.. to that end we apologize."
On Sept. 13, Jane’s Addiction was in the middle of performing a concert in Boston when an altercation broke out between lead singer Perry Farrell and guitarist Navarro. Jane’s Addiction later announced it was canceling the remainder of their tour, and Perry Farrell apologized to his bandmate, explaining he had reached a "breaking point."
In Perry Farrell's wife's latest post, she noted that they were planning to take some time for themselves so they could "reflect and to heal."
"Perry already has appointments with a otolaryngologist and a neurologist," she revealed. "If you know and love Perry well, you know there’s no need for me to address the other false narratives. Our souls know."
She didn't offer further specifics on the appointments. An otolaryngologist is a medical professional who specializes in the treatment of conditions affecting the ears, nose and throat, while a neurologist treats conditions of the brain and nervous system.
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Etty Lau Farrell previously mentioned in a Sept. 14 post that Perry “had been suffering from tinnitus and a sore throat every night” while performing on tour.
TODAY.com reached out to representatives for Perry Farrell for comment on his health.
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The altercation between Jane’s Addiction bandmates Perry Farrell and Navarro led to the abrupt ending of the Sept. 13 show at Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston. In a fan video shared on social media, Farrell is seen bumping Navarro on the shoulder during the concert and then yelling in the guitarist’s face before he was restrained and removed from the stage.
The altercation came just months after the band’s original members reunited for the first time in more than three decades for their new song “Imminent Redemption,” released in July 2024, according to Rolling Stone.
The group has had a tumultuous history together, including a breakup in the early ‘90s followed by subsequent reunions and more splits between the on-and-off-again bandmates.
Here’s everything we know about the incident between Farrell and Navarro at a recent Jane’s Addiction concert
TODAY.com reached out to representatives for Jane’s Addiction, Farrell and Navarro for comment after the incident but did not hear back.
What happened at Jane’s Addiction's Boston concert?
Jane’s Addiction was in the middle of performing a concert in Boston when the altercation between Farrell and Navarro broke out.
Fan video on social media showed the incident occurred while the band was performing its song “Ocean Size.” Toward the end of the song, Farrell lunged forward several times in Navarro’s direction before finally approaching him onstage and bumping him with his shoulder.
The altercation continued to escalate from there. After the shoulder bump, Farrell backed up momentarily before approaching Navarro again, staring him down as he walked closer to to the guitarist. Crew members began to intervene when Farrell appeared to yell in Navarro’s face, while he held up his arm to put distance between him and the singer.
By the time crew members approached, Farrell tried to take a swing at Navarro before he was pulled away. One crew member could be heard telling Farrell to stop, but he appeared to get agitated and tried to break free from his restraint. Eventually, additional crew members entered the stage as the lights went down to attempt to further restrain Farrell and usher him off of the stage.
What led to the altercation between Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro?
The day after the incident, Farrell’s wife, Etty Lau Farrell, posted a video of the altercation on Instagram Sept. 14 and used the caption to explain the “first person account” of what occurred “rather than speculating.”
“Clearly there had been a lot of tension and animosity between the members.. the magic that made the band so dynamic,” Etty Lau Farrell wrote. “Well, the dynamite was lit. Perry got up in Dave’s face and body checked him.”
She wrote that her husband’s “frustration had been mounting, night after night.” She said that he felt that the stage volume was loud that evening and “his voice was being drowned out by the band.”
“Perry had been suffering from tinnitus and a sore throat every night,” she added of her husband’s health. “But when the audience in the first row, started complaining up to Perry cussing at him that the band was planning too loud and that they couldn’t hear him, Perry lost it.”
Etty Lau Farrell said things bubbled over when the band began performing “Ocean Size” before her husband was ready. She added, “The stage volume was so loud at that point, that Perry couldn’t hear pass the boom and the vibration of the instruments and by the end of the song, he wasn’t singing, he was screaming just be to be heard.”
She also said that in the aftermath of the altercation, her husband “was a crazed beast for the next half an hour” and that he “did not calm down, but did breakdown and cried and cried.”
Perry Farrell himself said in a statement in his Instagram story on Sept. 16, “Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation.”
Jane's Addiction canceled the rest of their tour
Jane's Addiction issued a statement in an Instagram story on Sept. 14, taking accountability for what happened and saying they would be canceling an upcoming concert that would be refunded back to patrons.
“We want to extend a heartfelt apology for the events that unfolded last night,” that message read. “As a result we will be cancelling tomorrow night’s show in Bridgeport.”
The message continued, “Refunds will be issued at your point of purchase,” before sharing additional refund details.
Then on Sept. 16, a statement addressed to fans that was posted to the official Jane’s Addiction Instagram page read, “The band have made the difficult decision to take some time away as a group. As such, they will be cancelling the remainder of the tour.”
The statement added that refunds for canceled dates will be issued at point of purchase. Fans who purchased tickets from a third-party resale site are advised to contact the site directly.
Navarro and bandmates Stephen Perkins and Eric Avery said in a separate statement on Instagram that the tour was discontinued “due to a continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell.”
“Our concern for his personal health and safety as well as our own has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs,” their statement continued.
“We deeply regret that we are not able to come through for all our fans who have already bought tickets. We can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis.”
The message ends with “our hearts are broken” and the three band members’ names.
How fans reacted to the incident
Fans on social media had a lot to say about the incident, with one user on X joking, “Some folks paid for Jane’s Addiction but got Oasis instead.”
Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher even weighed in on the situation, replying to a video of the altercation on X with, “There attitude stinks.”
“i think i just saw the last Jane’s Addiction show,” another fan speculated on social media.
Another fan added, “Well…so much for that Jane’s Addiction reunion.”
In the days leading up to the Boston gig, fans who attended earlier dates on the tour expressed concern over Farrell and the future state of the group.
“Probably saw the last Jane’s Addiction show ever tonight in NYC,” one fan wrote on X Sept. 10. “Perry Farrell completely incoherent, band clearly furious with him. Everyone else, on the other hand, sounds better than the live recordings I’ve heard in their prime.”
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