Mötley Crüe’s bassist Nikki Sixx has distanced himself and his bandmates from a recently announced play about the rock group.

Last week, it was revealed that The Crüe: Underneath The Dirt Lies The Truth would premiere on June 4 at The Hollywood Fringe festival. The play, written by David Lucarelli, was described in a press release as a “darkly humorous drama” and an “intimate look at Nikki Sixx and the band he built into a cultural phenomenon.”

Yesterday (May 9), Sixx issued a statement via Instagram that distanced himself and his bandmates from the play.

He wrote: “Fans of Mötley Crüe have asked about a new play by David Zucarelli’s [sic] called The Crüe: Underneath The Dirt Lies The Truth.

“I was disappointed to see an advertisement using my image and our band’s trademark THE CRÜE to promote this play. The advertising is misleading because it suggests that I and the other members of the band are somehow involved with the play.

“We have never been approached about this play. And Mötley Crüe has no connection or affiliation with this play whatsoever.”

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When the film was first announced, Lucarelli said in a statement: “I debuted my first play, Doctor Zomba’s Ghost Show, at the 2018 Hollywood Fringe fest to a sold-out run. I’m so excited to return to the Fringe fest for my directorial debut with ‘The Crüe’. Given that Mötley rose up from the very same streets of Hollywood that now bring forth the Hollywood Fringe fest, it feels like the perfect place to do it.

“If all people remember Mötley Crüe for it being the quintessential party band that did a lot of drugs and had a lot of sex, then that would be a shame because there was so much more to them.

“I’ve been a lifelong fan of this band since I first saw them live in 1984. This play is my attempt to show them as more than just one-dimensional caricatures and show the world why they mean so much to so many.”

He continued: “The casting of Ryan Ruffing as Nikki Sixx has been a real coup. Nikki was the mastermind behind the band, and Ryan captures perfectly the single-minded intensity it took to make Mötley Crüe so massively successful, the brilliance of his creative vision, and the dark side of his self-destructive nature.”

Meanwhile, Mötley Crüe sold their entire catalogue to BMG Records last year for a reported £112million. “It feels amazing to be collaborating with our new partners at BMG,” said the band in a collective statement at the time.

“Their extensive track record of success in rock made them the perfect home to continue preserving and growing our musical legacy, ensuring we always stay at the top.”