After nearly 18 months of public disputes between Vicky Cornell and the surviving members of Soundgarden, the two parties appear to have taken an important first step toward a lasting peace. The widow of frontman Chris Cornell has reportedly reached an agreement with the rest of the band to hand over control of the 90s grunge act’s social media accounts.
According to a joint statement made on June 15th, Soundgarden and Cornell “have come to a temporary agreement that will transfer the Soundgarden social media accounts and website to the band’s remaining members, Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron, and Ben Shepherd and their managers, Red Light Management.” It continued, “The agreement marks a productive first step towards healing and open dialogue, and the parties wish for the social media accounts to celebrate the Band’s accomplishments and music while continuing to honor Chris’ legacy.”
The spat over the group’s online presence was just the latest in an ongoing feud between the two parties that stretches back to December 2019. Recently, Soundgarden accused Cornell of locking the band members out of the group’s social media accounts, claiming in February that “Soundgarden’s social media accounts have been hijacked; misleading and confusing our fans,” and in March, leaked court documents alleged that in 2019, “Vicky [Cornell] has since changed all the social media passwords for the band accounts and will not share them… as she wants the band, and I quote, ‘to sue her for them’.”
Both parties have accused the other of carefully orchestrated Machiavellian PR strategies aimed at discrediting the other. The feud originally boiled over into public view when Vicky sued the band for making false public statements claiming that she was withholding unreleased band recordings made prior to Chris’ suicide in 2017. Vicky countered that the seven recordings her husband made before his death were for a solo project, and not a Soundgarden release. That has since ignited a flurry of suits, countersuits, press statements, and more. Back in February, Vicky Cornell asked a judge to make an impartial valuation of Soundgarden’s assets after the band attempted to buy her out of Chris’ shares for only $278,000, an amount Vicky claims smaller than her share of royalty profits from 2018.
However, it now appears that Vicky and Soundgarden’s surviving members may have found some common ground. Though the litany of litigations involving the two parties is still ongoing in several courtrooms, the social media agreement might just be the first step toward a truce for the two parties. Relations already appear to have taken a more civil turn, as on Wednesday Soundgarden posted a lengthy note on its social media pages telling fans to make “No more comments about wives, children, exes, significant others, siblings, parents, great aunts, 2nd cousins…etc. of any of the current or former band members…get it?!!” This is a far cry from Vicky’s 2019 allegations that the band members alienated angry fans toward her for personal gain. Scroll down to read both recent statements from Soundgarden.
[H/T Consequence of Sound]