MÖTLEY CRÜE's TOMMY LEE Accuses Rapper TRAVIS SCOTT Of 'Ripping Off' His 360-Degree 'Crüecifly' Setup

November 29, 2018

Tommy Lee is apparently contemplating taking legal action against Travis Scott after finding out that the rapper's new stage design includes a roller coaster the drummer claims is too similar to the one he used on MÖTLEY CRÜE's last few tours between 2011 and 2015.

Lee's grievances center around Scott's "Astroworld" tour, which features a moment where Travis can be seen performing while taking a ride on a slow-rolling-but-functional roller coaster.

"Just found out this fucking idiot @travisscott or someone on his team ripped off the 360 and the Crüecifly!" Lee wrote on Instagram. "WTF!! Get an original idea bro ...(swipe to see who did this shit first). BRB there's more ..."

That was soon followed by: "ANNNNND not one rip off but TWO. DOPE. I get copying is a form of flattery, but this is just straight ripping off my shit. What do you guys think???"

After posting videos of Scott's and Lee's stage performances, Tommy tweeted: "Hey @trvisXX lawyer up!"

Following Lee's comments, a lawyer for Scott told TMZ: "Tommy didn't invent the concept of a roller coaster on stage and there's no legal basis for his accusatory outburst. The actual creator and owner of the system has granted Travis all rights to use that equipment to complement his original stage design."

Lee later followed up with another tweet: "And the plot thickens! After I and our production crew created the 360 and Crüecify, We hired a company called SGPS in Las Vegas to create it. WELLLLL GUESS WHO'S DOING TRAVIS'S SET DESIGN???? Fucking SGPS! So all u mothafuckers tellin me I'm not right can fuck off."

Dubbed "The Crüecifly", Lee's drum stunt saw him bolted to a platform that moves on a roller coaster-type track near the arena ceiling, passing the band's inverted-pentagram lighting rig and spiked disco ball and spinning him 360 degrees vertically, rendering him upside-down.

Lee told Music Radar in a 2011 interview how the idea of mounting his drum kit on a giant roller coaster came about. He said: "Every tour we do, everybody's always wondering, 'What's Tommy Lee going to do next? What new, wild and crazy thing is he going to come up with?' And what's funny is, the thrill-seeker and the amusement park fan in me took over this time. Whenever I go on a roller coaster, I always say the same thing: 'Man, I have got to find a way to take the cars off this ride and put my drums on the track!' That's basically where it all started. One day, I drew a design for the whole thing on a cocktail napkin."

Asked how long it took him to get used to riding the roller coaster while performing a drum solo, Lee laughed: "I still don't know if I'm used to it! Everything to do with this is absolutely wrong. Playing upside down is insane. It's two or three times more difficult than what's normal. Your feet want to come off the pedals, your arms want to drop down — all of your body is fighting gravity. The only time it's comfortable is when you're in the down position; the rest of the time, everything's fucking out of control. The drum roller coaster is wild! [Laughs]"

Lee's 360-degree roller coaster drum kit was officially "retired" in May 2013 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The kit, which was introduced during the band's 30-year anniversary tour with POISON and the NEW YORK DOLLS in 2011, was described by The Hollywood Reporter as "a revamped version of the percussive light show Lee used in tours during the late 1980s. The 360, also known as The Loop, had a passenger seat for one lucky fan to ride shotgun with Lee at each show. Lee usually performed one or two complete rotations on the roller coaster himself, along with numerous half-rotations as teasers, before taking on an audience member for an additional two or three turns."

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