Nikki Sixx says Mick Mars' claims that Motley Crue don't play live are a "betrayal to the band who saved his life"

Nikki Sixx says claims by estranged guitarist Mick Mars that Motley Crue don't really play live are a "betrayal to the band who saved his life."

Mars and his former bandmates have waged a bitter and public back-and-forth after the guitarist announced in October 2022 that was retiring from touring with the band due to his battle with the degenerative disease Ankylosing Spondylitis.

His announcement that he was quitting touring seemed to suggest he would remain part of the group, but that he could "no longer handle the rigours of the road.”

But after John 5 was brought in as Mars' replacement, Mars filed a lawsuit alleging that that the band wanted to cut his share in profits from their earnings from 25% to 5%. They denied this and the matter is moving through the courts.

Mars also claimed that Sixx, singer Vince Neil and drummer Tommy Lee all used pre-recorded backing tracks during their last tour with Mars.

In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, Sixx describes those comments from Mars as a "crazy betrayal."

He says: "Saying he played in a band that didn’t play, it’s a betrayal to the band who saved his life."

Sixx goes on to explain that any backing tracks used live are only there to enhance the sound, not to replace what should be played live.

"Anything we enhance the shows with, we actually played,” he says. "If there are background vocals with my background vocals, and we have background singers to make it sound more like the record. That does not mean we’re not singing."

Last week, frontman Neil revealed he suffered a stroke last Christmas. It led to Crue's Las Vegas residency being postponed. With the singer recovering well, the Vegas shows finally kicked off on Friday.