Longtime Hatebreed bassist Chris Beattie has filed a lawsuit against the band, alleging he was wrongly booted from the group he co-founded three decades ago. The plot thickens as he’s pointing the finger squarely at frontman Jamey Jasta. First reported by Blabbermouth, the complaint claims Beattie was “the driving force behind [Hatebreed’s] sound and identity” before being abruptly cut off last November.
Filed in Connecticut Superior Court, the suit paints a bleak picture of internal tension and financial opacity. Beattie accuses Jasta of erratic behaviour, withholding payments, and pushing him out without warning after a supposed backstage incident that Beattie denies ever happened.
At the heart of the case is a 2015 merch revenue deal that allegedly gave Beattie a 25% share of sales. He claims those payments started arriving late, with no breakdowns or transparency and when he started asking questions, he was iced out. The lawsuit argues that Hatebreed was run as an equal partnership between Jasta, Beattie, drummer Matt Byrne and manager Steve Ross, and that Beattie’s termination violated that agreement.
Beattie also says the band is still using his image to sell merch and promote shows, despite him being long gone. “I was the middleman for years,” he told The New York Hardcore Chronicles. “But when I started asking questions, I became a problem.”
Since his departure, Beattie says his reputation and mental health have taken a hit. Still, he’s avoided dragging the band through the mud publicly, until now. “We made great music. We had great times,” he said. “But I can’t go back to that.”
Meanwhile, Hatebreed are marching on with a new single ‘Make The Demons Obey’ and fill in musicians covering for Wayne Lozinak, who recently stepped back following a brain tumour diagnosis.
As Beattie puts it, “New doors open.” But it looks like some will have to be kicked down first.
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