One of the former FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH crew members sent anonymously accusing band’s frontman Ivan Moody of “degradation” and “verbal abuse.”
Full letter reads as follows:
Hello person who chooses to listen,
Please excuse my writing as the experience I’m sending to you is very triggering and I’m on a healing journey. I’m reaching out as an ex crew member who hopes to prevent another crew member from experiencing the same abuse I did while working. I’m choosing to remain anonymous out of fear of a lawsuit, I’m hoping that others will come forth and speak out but in the live entertainment industry we have what are known as NDA’s which are essentially a gag order crafted to instill fear, create silence, and enable abusive behavior. I have suffered enough emotional turmoil and am choosing to no longer sit in silence.
Providing hard evidence is my largest issue and can only speak of my experiences. Some of the things I’ve witnessed I’m sure you can find on internet videos, I’d compile them myself if it wasn’t so painful to be reminded of the environment I experienced.
“I used to work for a band named FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH. A Rock n’ Roll band based out of Las Vegas, Nevada through a company named Advanced Weapon Technologies Inc and to my last known knowledge managed by 10th St Entertainment and booked by Live Nation.
“I’m hoping to bring attention to the public and to these companies because I feel that they are personally responsible for the actions of Ivan Moody since they represent and book FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH.
“I know Ivan is still navigating sobriety and I hope that he can continue down that path. It is a painful journey I’ve watched others walk, trip, and fail at. I hope he can continue that path with grace, no one deserves to suffer the sickness that is addiction. I’m learning to forgive him but I cannot forget his degradation, verbal abuse, and outbursts towards myself or those around me. I’m reminded of it every time I hear his band in public, see a t-shirt, see a news article, or have a person ask me about a job I once had.
“A large part of recovery is making amends. This requires a change in action. Saying sorry is not enough. I heard sorry too many times just to watch Ivan lose his anger on crew members again and again. From throwing microphones at monitor engineers , telling crowds to turn over towards the monitor engineer and scream “f*ck you” on numerous nights even once while the engineers father was there right next to him, telling crowds to scream f*ck you at the lighting designer, screaming in the faces of numerous personal assistants, screaming in the face of a drum tech with a disability and throwing items at him, screaming in the face of a 25 year veteran who assisted him through his recovery, screaming at a technician over a bass sample, pressuring a technician to play pornography and violent films through a teleprompter, screaming at numerous band members, speaking of how a female crew member would be f*ckable if it wasn’t for her accent, screaming at his therapist and sober coach, speaking of hiring a hitman to have another band member killed. There was so much verbal abuse and toxicity that I don’t even know where to start and stop my thoughts. Many of these people have to speak up for themselves and it is not my place to tell their stories nor do I know if he has made amends with them.
“I hope this letter makes it to you Ivan.
“Dear Ivan,
“Please learn to control your anger and not be abusive. It’s very sad to see you’ve come this far treat people this way. I came to your camp hearing that you were a changed person and thought I was helping someone better themselves only to watch crew abuse unfold before my very own eyes. Humans make mistakes and that’s ok, I know you’re relearning how to be a person. Neither good nor evil. Just a human, please come off your rockstar pedestal and learn to treat your support network with dignity.
No true rockstar can exist without their crew and you treat many of yours like dirt switching targets throughout every day of every tour.. Please look at the list of current and prior crew and band members and ask yourself some questions. Are they f*cking up or have they f*cked up the show or am I sabotaging myself? Could I prevent this if instead of throwing a fit and sitting in a dressing room smoking cigarettes I just practiced and showed up to line check every day? Will my crew make less mistakes and quit abandoning my camp if I just stop screaming at them and treat them with dignity? Don’t these people sacrifice their time with their families to help me support myself and my family and allow me to live my dream?
“Using the statement “It could have been worse” or having crew members say “He’s been worse” invalidates the experiences many of us have had and does not excuse your behavior. I hope one day you can truly acknowledge your actions and embrace true change. I know only a fraction of what your past is and from the way you act towards those whom support you and love you I can guess I’d never want to and would never want to wish it upon anyone. Even you.
“I forgive you for choosing to abuse me but I don’t know if i’ll ever be able to forget it. I really hope one day you can save yourself from yourself before you damage another human beings psyche in your self destructive ways. —————————
“I hope that others will feel comfortable to tell their stories and that this treatment of crew members can be prevented in the future
