Let's Get to the Truth about Scott Weiland

When Rolling Stone mag published an open letter by Mary Forsberg just days after the death of Scott, I was disgusted. She painted him as a narcissistic junkie who never got clean for long and who was a deadbeat father who ignored his children. Their children that were desperate for a relationship with their father but had realised what a fuck up he was. True or not, it left a very bad taste in my mouth to be saying these type of things about a man she shared a life with only 4 days after he had passed. I also bawked at the rather overt suggestions she made that the fans somehow played a role in his continued descent into drugs and ultimately, his death. Essentially ignoring his behaviour and continuing to support him made it our fault. Paraphasing of course but that was the point.

Reading the comments on not just the Rolling Stone site but all of the online articles on his death, there was obviously a strong voice in favour of Scott. Many believed in the months leading up to his overdose that he was stressed and deeply unhappy. But of course there were a lot of people trashing Scott and defending Mary, who they believed to be a more reputable source of truth since she was clean and Scott wasn't. These commenters put forth that the fans didn't know Scott, but Mary did.

I have been a huge fan of Scott and STP since the 90's and have read pretty much every interview he ever did and read every article and major event that happened in his life. True, I didn't know Scott but when I stood 2 metres from him in concert with STP in 2011 he looked amazing. Healthy. Happy. Months and even days before his death I noticed how awful he looked. He had aged 10 years in the last 12 months and his performances had reportedly gone downhill. Of course Mary insinuated that it was drugs that caused him to forget the lyrics to his own songs and late night calls of paranoia and tears.

Scott in 2015 on tour looking aged and unwell

And now Jamie Weiland has finally spoken about Scott's final year and the hell he went through. Unlike his ex wife, she has chosen to let things settle before telling the truth.

Scott and Jamie

Scott lost his closest friend and band member, Jeremy Brown to an overdose last year a day before the release of Blaster. Jamie also reports that his Bipolar had resurfaced, making him paranoid and behaviourally unstable. This would explain the late night calls to Mary. She also states that a change to his meds were the reasons for his odd performances, abuse to fans and forgetting his songs. Having a professional background in mental illness and meds, this is most certainly a credible explanation.

In the 12 months before his death, both his biological father and his mother, who he adored, were diagnosed with cancer. This obviously had Scott reeling. He was also broke. Between the divorce settlements to Mary and his first wife, Janina Castenada, his addictions and his child support, Scott had no money left. His claims of touring just to pay Mary and keep himself in the Howard Stern interview appear to be true all along. Finally Jamie and Scott's family state that Mary was in fact keeping the kids from him and he was devastated. 

As a mother myself, I do get that decision. But some honesty would have gone a long way while she trashed her ex-husband. Had she admitted she had refused Scott contact based on his recent drug use and irrational behaviour as opposed to saying he just couldn't be bothered with his kids would have actually won points with me. But instead she chose to paint herself the martyred ex who didn't tell the kids to 'protect' them and who was some kind of perfect mother because she got clean and Scott didn't. Let's leave out it took her until the kids were almost school age to fully get clean.

No one, not even I will insult Scott's memory by painting him as a saint, perfect father or husband. He had on ongoing battle with addiction that he ultimately lost. But his behaviour and drug use leading up to his overdose were far more complex than Mary made out. In the space of less than a year, his best friend dies, both parents have cancer, his Bipolar hits top gear again and meds send his behaviour out of control. He's still broke and now chasing each gig to pay the bills and Mary has moved Noah and Lucy interstate. And people can't understand why he was using again?

Now of course we have the inevitable battle by Mary to control his estate, once again under the guise of looking out for their children. According to Jamie there is nothing left bar the trust he has for the kids. While her supporters brand her as a loving mother angry at Scott for his abandonment of his children, many see her as money hungry and partly the reason for the rapid decline of his mental and physical health.

I just want the world to know that Scott was more than simply a junkie who took too much one day and died. He was dealing with some huge issues in a very short space of time which pushed his addictive personality into a dark place. It would be easy to just chalk up his passing as another drug addict that has lost their life. But I see a fallible man whose life and family around him were were in a perfect storm for alcohol and drugs to ruin everything.