Ghost Founder Sued by Ex-Band Members

So much for anonymity – Up to this point there have been many rumors regarding the band’s identity, but now that’s all changed.  According to Swedish website Corren.se, Tobias Forge aka Papa Emeritus, is being sued. Four of his former bandmates are accusing the Ghost founder of cheating them out of profits from the group’s album sales and tours.

Filed in Linköping, Sweden, the lawsuit states that Forge controls all of Ghost’s business affairs, including managing the band, and does not consult with anyone else in the group.

According to the lawsuit, the band was formed in 2010, under a company started by Forge. The lawsuit claims the former band members were never provided financial statements and they are asking the court to order Forge to reveal the company’s revenues and expenses for the years 2011 through 2016. Forge insists that the company was not yet profitable during those years.  In addition, if Forge fails to produce the requested financial records, the former members are asking the court to enforce a financial penalty of SEK 200,000 (approximately $22,000), or an amount the court deems reasonable.

In 2016, the lawsuit claims that Forge presented two separate contract proposals to the members of Ghost, but both were rejected on the grounds that they were viewed as “slave agreements”. On December 20, 2016, Forge contested, via his attorney, the musicians’ claim that Ghost was a partnership. When asked by Corren.se to comment, Forge said, “I can’t comment on it because it is a legal process. The lawsuit will be answered fairly soon by my legal counsel.”

Just last month, we posted an article on guitarist Martin Persner, who claimed he was a former member of Ghost. Persner, however, is not one of the four members named in the lawsuit against Forge.