Tara Ziemba/Getty ImagesThe intense legal battle between Vicky Cornell, the widow of late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, and the band heated up again on Tuesday when new claims were filed in court.
According to Billboard, the band claims Cornell’s widow locked them out of their social media accounts and are demanding she fork over the passwords.
Soundgarden’s surviving members — Matt Cameron, Ben Shepherd and Kim Thayil — alongside business manager Rit Venerus, submitted the complaint to a judge last Thursday and requested the courts to intervene.
The band accused Vicky Cornell of changing the passwords to all their social media accounts — Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and others — alongside their official website without their permission. The Grammy winning band adds that they have essentially been locked out of their accounts and are hoping that a judge can convince Cornell to hand over the keys.
Soundgarden also offered another solution, asking that a disclaimer that reads, “Soundgarden has temporarily suspended its official social media accounts due to pending litigation” be added to their accounts.
The band submitted a December 2019 email stating Cornell gained access to the band’s passwords when the band’s former management company, Patriot Management, granted her access to the band’s login information that October.
The email alleges “Vicky [Cornell] has since changed all the social media passwords for the band accounts and will not share them with [Patriot] as she wants the band, and I quote, ‘to sue her for them’.”
The band furthers their website and social media handles have been “in a state of neglect,” resulting in broken links, confusion among fans and the accounts being stripped of the “verified blue badge.”
A hearing is set for April 16.
By Megan Stone
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