The other shoe in the Ghost drama has dropped. There have been reports that Ghost has gone through as many as 10 members already. You just knew something was up when only one Nameless Ghoul showed up to accept a Swedish GRAMMY win, compared to when they won a US GRAMMY. The band are currently on tour and unveiled a new lineup, but some former members aren't done with the group, and they're taking its leader, Tobias Forge, who you may know as Papa Emeritus, to court.
A report from the Swedish newspaper, Corren, states the former members are suing Forge to get him to disclose the band's revenue and expenses between 2011 and 2016. Should he fail to do so, they are asking the court to penalize Forge for 200,000 SEK, which is about $22,000 US, or whatever the court deems reasonable. The former members allege that Forge was withholding money from them and tried to get them to sign contracts that amounted to, what they called, "slave labor."
The members allege Tobias made decisions for the group without consulting the rest of them, yet also say that a partnership agreement exists between them and Tobias which put Tobias in charge of the management of the band. They claim he has been collecting all the royalties and revenue from the band's merchandise and touring but never provided other band members with any financial statements. Forge instead insisted that the band was not yet profitable, according to court papers.
The former members claim they did not receive any compensation in 2012, and the dire situation resulted in Forge, under pressure, to pay the members sporadic amounts while still claiming there was no money in their company bank account.
Interestingly, Martin Persner, who recently outed himself as a former Ghoul, is not a part of the suit. In December, Forge, through his lawyer, contested the claim that Ghost was a partnership.
Forge did not offer comment on the story due to the ongoing legal process.
This might get messy. Ghost will be returning to the States this summer with some headlining dates and opening for Iron Maiden.
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