SCOTT WEILAND's Wife To Husband's Detractors: 'You Can Kiss My Ass'

VELVET REVOLVER frontman Scott Weiland's wife, Mary Weiland, has released a statement in response to last week's Associated Pressstory in which "family obligations" and album "pre-production work" were cited by VELVET REVOLVER spokeswoman Kristine Ashton-Magnuson as reasons for the group's decision to cut short their overseas tour.

The band, which features former members of GUNS N' ROSES and the STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, launched their European tour on June 3 in Germany, and will perform shows through July 2, including an appearance at rock guru Bob Geldof's "Live 8" charity event in London. However, VELVET REVOLVER scrapped the final five gigs they had scheduled from July 3 through July 10.

A newspaper and television station in Finland reported that the band had split, but Ashton-Magnuson disputed those reports.

"The band has not broken up," she said. "In fact, they're coming back to the U.S. early to start the next record." She didn't elaborate on the nature of the "family" matters or why the band had booked a tour if they knew they needed to be in the studio to work on their second album.

Mary Weiland's statement in response to the Associated Press story reads as follows:

"In response to the Associated Press piece last week, Scott Weiland's family obligation is to myself and his children. As for Finnish TV and any so called 'rock critics' involved in a pool on my husband:

1. That's so early '90s
2. You can kiss my ass."

VELVET REVOLVER's "Contraband" album debuted at No. 1 when it was released in June 2004. Since then, it has sold 1.7 million copies in the U.S. alone, and picked up a Grammy for best hard rock performance.