krewella_2013

Krewella being sued for $5 million by former member

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Kris Trindl (a.k.a. Rain Man), is no longer a member of EDM group Krewella and is suing the remaining members for at least $5 million in damages.

EDM.com reports that Trindl's lawsuit states the following:

“Kris used alcohol to try to cope with the pressure. By late summer of 2013, he knew he had a drinking problem and checked himself into a detox program and then a 30-day rehab program. But the Yousaf sisters didn't like the new, sober Kris, who took care of business but did not party or drink anymore. They thought he was depressed, although he explained it was just part of the recovery process.”

“At this time, Udell, the Yousaf sisters and others conspired to remove Kris from the group altogether. Now that the band was successful, they figured they could always hire outside people to write and produce music for far less money than it would cost to continue splitting their income equally with Kris, as they have done (one-third to each member).”

The lawsuit continues: “It was not Kris' health or sobriety the others were thinking about, it was all about keeping him off the road so Jahan and Yasmine could establish themselves to live audiences as a duo without Kris, so they could eventually erase him completely from Krewella and reap greater financial rewards.”

Shortly after the lawsuit became public, the remaining members of Krewella—sisters Yasmine and Jahan Yousaf—released a statement on Facebook, claiming they did not kick Trindl out of the group:

“To our krew:

We woke up this morning to the lawsuit Kris filed against us. As you all know, there are two sides to every story. We ask our fans to please be patient and not come to any conclusions until we are able to respond to the lawsuit with the truth. Our team has advised that we don’t get into any specifics until we can properly respond to the false claims made—most importantly being that we did not kick Kris out of Krewella, he resigned. We’re having a really difficult time today. As we write this letter to you, we are in the studio working on the second album. Please hang in there with us, the truth will eventually come out. Thank you for being so supportive, we love you guys.

Love, Y & J”

Yasmine then posted a message of her own to the fans via Tumblr:

“Today was 1 of the most emotional days of my life. I know I don’t even have to explain why, as the whole internet-sphere knows by now, but reading so many false claims about my sister and me coming straight from Kris cut me deeper than anything I’ve experienced in my life. I can’t say much as this is a legal issue (and I hope that none of you will ever experience a lawsuit and know what it feels like not to be able to defend yourself to avoid MORE false claims) but truthfully all I really want to say right now is thank you. Even though only one side of a story was put on blast, every single person who texted, called, DMed, and emailed me today had nothing but support in their words. Without even hearing what I had to say, they already saw through the bullshit and knew the truth. That to me is more powerful than anything, this orb of love that I have surrounding me. I straight up feel like Harry Potter who is impervious to Voldemort’s ill will with the strength and care of my family, boyfriend, friends, and KREW. You guys never cease to amaze me with your genuine concern and care that you have for my sister and me. I am forever grateful to those who send us good vibes every day, I truly feel it from wherever you guys are in the world. Please just always remember: don’t buy the hype, don’t fall for a catchy headline. Just because you read it on your favorite blog doesn’t mean it true. Thank you guys again for your unending support. Love always, yazzy”

“1 more thing; Choosing a “side” is terrible. I don’t want anyone to take this situation as an opportunity to pity or criticize either party. From the bottom of my heart, Kris has and always will be my brother and he knows that. I would never ask anyone to feel or speak ill of him. I hope you all can understand that it is a waste of an emotion to hate someone, and that is exactly what I am trying to avoid right now. There is only 1 real message we’ve always tried to spread, and that is to spread love. Thank you guys again for the support.”

You can read the full lawsuit below:

Krewella released their debut album, Get Wet, in 2013 via Columbia Records. Watch their video for “Killin’ It.”

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