Did you know that Scott Weiland actually sued the members of Stone Temple Pilots in 2013?
So what caused his bad blood towards his ex-bandmates?
The reason may surprise you.
Despite only peaking at No. 23 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock charts, Stone Temple Pilots'
first single, "Sex Type Thing," would go on to be one of the band's all-time classic recordings.
But if you think of it, part of the reason behind its middling performance on the charts
might have been due to the controversy surrounding its lyrics.
The song was written in the first person, and as a result of this, many thought that
Scott Weiland and his bandmates were glorifying rape when their intention was the exact opposite.
The frontman was, in fact, an advocate of women's rights who wrote the song not about
sex, but rather about control, violence, and the abuse of power.
Speaking to Rolling Stone in 1993, Weiland lamented how STP had become the latest target
of moral guardians following the controversy over Body Count's police-bashing "Cop Killer."
He explained that "Sex Type Thing" was written from the point of view of the, quote, "typical
American macho jerk" because he wanted to avoid sounding preachy about a topic he felt
strongly about.
Weiland told the magazine:
"I never thought that people would ever seriously think that I was an advocate of date rape."
Being that they hailed well over a thousand miles from Seattle and often had a sound reminiscent
of the city's soon-to-be iconic grunge bands, Stone Temple Pilots got a lot of undeserved
flak early on for allegedly chasing what was rock's most popular trend at the moment.
It probably didn't help much that on their first two albums, Scott Weiland sang in a
deeper voice than he would on most of STP's later releases, arguably making him sound
a little too close for comfort to the likes of Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Alice in Chains'
Layne Staley.
Perhaps the most famous diss thrown STP's way came from author Neil Strauss.
In his 1996 New York Times review of their third album, he declared that the band had
a reputation for being, quote, "popular grunge imitators."
This album, though, was the decidedly different-sounding Tiny Music: Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop.
The critical barbs kept coming even in the early 2000s when Observer called Weiland,
quote, "The Talented Mr. Ripoff" for his early attempts to sound like Vedder.
The publication then poked fun at how the singer's idea of a throwback STP effort on
their 2001 album Shangri-La Dee Da was closer to throwback Alice in Chains.
More pointedly, the outlet accused Stone Temple Pilots of not having any integrity and for
generally trying too hard on the new record to diversify their influences and sound more
eclectic.
After five studio albums and close to 15 years together as a band, Stone Temple Pilots decided
to call it a day in 2003.
"So is there still a Stone Temple Pilots?"
"You know what, I don't really…"
"Who knows?"
"Who knows, you know, but if that will ever happen again."
At that point, the band was seeing diminishing commercial returns with each subsequent release,
and Scott Weiland's drug problems and frequent run-ins with the law were taking their toll
on his bandmates more than ever.
Everything came to a head when Weiland and Dean DeLeo exchanged blows during the last
date of STP's fall 2002 tour.
That incident effectively closed the book on STP's career, though it was a year later
when their disbandment became official.
In an interview with Guitar One, Dean and Robert DeLeo delivered the news that no STP
fan wanted to hear.
They stressed that the decision was partly driven by the, quote, "cheese factor" of a
band of men nearing their 40th birthdays trying to recapture glory onstage.
Younger brother Robert then referenced the many times Weiland's drug use had threatened
to affect the band's productivity, even during the recording of 1994's sophomore effort Purple
and Tiny Music two years later.
"I think I think what we did offer Scott over the course of our career was, was, was the
truth and honesty."
The bassist told the outlet:
"Drugs ain't a good thing.
I'm not trying to be square.
It got in the way.
Denial's a strong thing.
We all got very frustrated."
During their time apart, the members of Stone Temple Pilots worked on various projects,
with Scott Weiland most memorably fronting hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver.
But thanks in large part to Weiland's then-wife, Mary Forsberg, STP eventually got back together.
They confirmed their reunion in 2008 by announcing a massive 65-date summer tour.
Curiously, the announcement came about one week after Velvet Revolver fired Weiland for
his erratic stage behavior and, quote, "personal problems."
Stone Temple Pilots' self-titled sixth album went all the way to No. 2 on the Billboard
200 in June 2010, and for some time, all seemed well.
Unfortunately, rumors began to swirl about two years later, claiming that STP had axed
Weiland.
The singer denied all of them, but on February 27, 2013, the band officially announced his
dismissal through a one-sentence statement that didn't specify any reasons behind his
firing.
Months later, it became clearer why STP decided to part ways with its longtime frontman.
The band sued Weiland toward the end of May 2013 for no-showing promotional events, showing
up late to concerts, and co-opting their plans to perform Core on tour in its entirety for
his own solo tour.
Weiland counter-sued about a week later, alleging that the rest of STP conspired to dismiss
him despite his status as their founder, lead singer, and chief lyricist.
Stone Temple Pilots quickly moved on after firing Scott Weiland, hiring Linkin Park frontman
Chester Bennington as their new lead singer and releasing the EP High Rise in October
2013.
Weiland, meanwhile, kept playing music with his new backing band, the Wildabouts, doing
so until his tragic death on December 3, 2015, at the age of 48.
No cause of death was announced at first for the singer, who was found dead on his tour
bus during a stop in Bloomington, Minnesota.
However, county officials confirmed on December 18 that Weiland died of an accidental overdose
of cocaine, alcohol, and MDA, as reported by Rolling Stone.
Tragedy would strike STP again only two years after Weiland's death, as Bennington died
by suicide on July 20, 2017.
The frontman, who was only 41 when he died, returned full-time to Linkin Park after his
brief stint with Stone Temple Pilots ended in 2015, releasing the album One More Light
just two months before his passing.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.