The surviving members of Soundgarden have released a statement with regards to the lawsuit that Chris Cornell’s widow, Vicky Cornell, filed last week. The statement from Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd reads: “The buyout offer that was demanded by the Estate has been grossly mischaracterized and we are confident that clarity will come out in court. All offers to buy out our interests have been unsolicited and rejected outright. For more than a year, Soundgarden’s social media accounts have been hijacked; misleading and confusing our fans. Being a band from Washington State since 1984, we are proud of Soundgarden’s musical legacy, work and career. We look forward to completing the final Soundgarden album.”
In the suit filed in U.S. District Court Western District of Washington, Vicky Cornell says that the surviving members offered her “the villainously low figure of less than $300,000,” despite having allegedly received a $16,000,000 offer from an outside music investor for Soundgarden’s master recordings. Cornell was in a partnership with his Soundgarden bandmates at the time of his death. Per the lawsuit, Cornell says she sent a demand letter to the band’s surviving members to buy out her late husband’s interests in Soundgarden and related entities.
Cornell and the surviving Soundgarden members have been in litigation in federal court since 2019 when Cornell filed a suit alleging they are wrongfully withholding royalty money owing to the Cornell estate.
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