Bassist Chris Beattie, a co-founding member of Hatebreed who was removed from the band in late 2024, has hit back with a lawsuit alleging unpaid profits.
Hatebreed Lawsuit Breakdown
Hatebreed bassist Chris Beattie and vocalist Jamey Jasta were the only two remaining original members from the band’s formation in 1994. But Beattie was removed from his spot in the band in November of last year.
Beattie is now suing the band over the incident, claiming Hatebreed owes him money.
Billboard reports the lawsuit, which was filed on July 30, claims that Jasta (real name James Shanahan) removed Beattie from Hatebreed in an attempt to get a larger share of the band’s profits.
Blabbermouth, who also got a look at the suit, reports that in September of 2015, “Beattie, [Matt] Byrne, and Shanahan agreed they were each entitled to 25 percent of the sales and revenue from merchandise while the other two members of the band received 12.5 percent, accounting for the remaining 25 percent of sales” and that “Shanahan and/or band manager Steve Ross maintained a specific Hatebreed bank account and managed the band’s income and distributions to other members, including Beattie.”
It’s alleged that Beattie and others had “no insight” as to how the finances were being distributed with requests for specific financial information unsatisfied.
“In addition, Beattie and Shanahan were the primary songwriters for the band and together earned the majority of publishing proceeds for their work,” the lawsuit states. “With Beattie out of the band, Shanahan likely believed that he could stand to recover significantly more in the way of publishing proceeds.”
Beattie claimed that Jasta exhibited “erratic behavior” before the bass player’s removal from the band. The suit alleges Jasta’s behavior included “berating and belittling tour and road crew and publicly posting about being stressed, burned out and generally having too much on his plate.”
Why Chris Beattie Was Removed From Hatebreed
Beattie’s lawsuit says he was dismissed from Hatebreed in November 2024.
His removal was made public in February of this year when Hatebreed announced on Instagram that Matt Bachand of Shadows Fall would handle bass duties “for the foreseeable future.”
No further details were provided regarding Beattie’s status. Two days later, he released a statement on social media, hinting at some miscommunication regarding the announcement.
“I was under the impression a joint announcement would be agreed upon in advance, but since that was not the case, I wanted to address your concerns in my own post.”
Beattie said his “departure” was official on November 13, 2024.
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“However, I want to clarify that the decision to leave the band was not mine and that my departure was uncalled for and based on misleading and wrongful statements that will be subject to future actions,” Beattie shared in an Instagram post.
Blabbermouth reports that the lawsuit mentions an alleged incident that occurred during a Hatebreed show in Connecticut four days before Beattie’s dismissal. The lawsuit claims Beattie was terminated from the band after a venue security guard “falsely reported” that he had harassed her before Hatebreed took the stage that night.
Neither Jasta nor Hatebreed have released statements regarding Beattie’s lawsuit.
The band is currently in the middle of a European tour.
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