John Lydon being sued by ex bandmates
John Lydon AKA Johnny Rotten is entangled in a High Court battle with his old Sex Pistols bandmates. Lydon has refused to allow the Sex Pistols songs to be used in a new TV series about the band.
The TV series Pistol is a six-part miniseries about the band and the director is Danny Boyle. Danny Boyle - director of films such as 28 days later, Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting.
The show stars actress Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) who will play the punk icon Jordan (Pamela Rooke) and Toby Wallace (Babyteeth) will play Steve Jones, Anson Boon will play Johnny Rotten, Louis Partridge as Sid Vicious and newcomer Jacob Slater as drummer Paul Cook. The series is based on Steve Jones' 2018 memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol.
the most disrespectful shit I've ever had to endure
Paul Cook (drummer) and Steve Jones (guitarist) have claimed they have every right to licence Sex Pistols music for the Pistol television series based on the punk band. In April this year, Lydon described the series as "the most disrespectful shit I've ever had to endure," He's threatened to take legal action again the production of the show. Cook and Jones have beaten him to the punch and have taken him to court.
As reported in Associated Press John Lydon's lawyer argued that the Sex Pistols music cannot be granted without his consent. The lawyer forCook and Jones stated that the band members agreed in 1998 that all Sex Pistols licensing agreements would be made on a “majority rules basis.â€
There's more statements from lawyers that show a little rift between the sides. Lydon's lawyer states he was offended by the depiction of him in Jones' memoir, saying he is described “in a hostile and unflattering light.†and referred to a passage in the book that reads “And as for the annoying little brat with the great bone structure who’s always asking for more… well let’s leave Johnny Rotten out of this for a while, shall we? He’s had his say a few times.â€
The court case is set to resume next week. Pistol is scheduled to air on FX in 2022, although there's no official launch date.