Chris Cornell’s widow ‘sues band over royalties and unreleased songs’
Chris Cornell’s widow is suing his former band Soundgarden over claims of unpaid royalties, according to reports.
Vicky Cornell has filed a complaint in a Florida federal court which alleges that the rights of several unreleased songs have been breached, TMZ said.
The complaint says that “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in royalty payments are “indisputably owed” to Cornell’s widow and children.
Court documents 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”, according to reports.
It is also claimed that Soundgarden “resorted to pressure tactics, harassment, unlawful conversion of royalties and extortion” by suggesting that Vicky is blocking the release of new music.
Cornell, 52, was found dead in a Detroit hotel room in May 2017 after he took his own life.
In a statement on Instagram on Monday, his widow Vicky said she would “not be pushed aside for someone else’s convenience or gain”.
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“I will not sacrifice our children’s futures for someone else’s greed,” she wrote.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Vicky Cornell (@vickycornell) on Dec 9, 2019 at 6:01am PST
“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.”
The remaining members of Soundgarden are yet to comment.
