It has been almost three years since Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell committed suicide. Now, Cornell’s wife is suing the band for what she claims to be unpaid royalties.
Earlier this year it was discovered that when the remaining band members attempted to complete Soundgarden’s unfinished album, an “unnamed party” refused them access to Chris Cornell’s demos. At the time many accused Cornell’s wife of being that unnamed party.
Vicky Cornell filed a complaint which reportedly claims the rights to several unreleased songs as well as “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in royalty payments.
Court documents that have recently released claim that Cornell’s former bandmates are attempting to “strong-arm Chris’ Estate into turning over certain audio recordings created by Chris before he passed away,” stating that Cornell’s demos were “solely authored by Chris; contain Chris’ own vocal tracks; and were bequeathed to Chris’ Estate.”
The claim also goes on to say that Soundgarden have “resorted to pressure tactics, harassment, unlawful conversion of royalties, and extortion,” by suggesting that Vicky is blocking the release of new music.
Vicky Cornell took to Instagram to add to her claim:
“This was not the way I would have chosen to move forward. But I will not be pushed aside for someone else’s convenience or gain. I will not sacrifice our children’s futures for someone else’s greed. And I will not let someone else make me feel shame because the man I loved was taken from all of us too soon. I will do justice by my husband’s work and memory; for our children and for everything we stood for. I want to thank everyone who has stood by Chris and has supported us through this devastating time. Your love and your kindness will never be forgotten.#chriscornell forever.”
Read her full statement below:
