During those lazy, heady, hair-heavy days of glam metal in the eighties, one might be forgiven for occasionally mistaking one for a mulleted band at first glance. But 40 years later, it seems that Amazon Prime Video has become the victim – but immediately meme-able – the crime is not only the confusion of two groups, but two groups from two different genres also do not have best link: The poster of the 2020 doc Rock’n Roll Icon: Mötley Crüe is not in the picture of Mötley Crüe, but instead of the modern hair of the revival of metal, Steel Panther.
The mix was spotted by a Steel Panther fan, who shared a video on Instagram which was retweeted by former Steel Panther Michael Starr. Steel Panther also poked fun at the misrepresentation on Twitter, joking, “Just to be clear, this new documentary about us @PrimeVideo is completely unauthorized and full of lies. They didn’t even talk to us.”
As it happens, there has been some tension between Mötley Crüe and Steel Panther over the years, with the former not exactly appreciating the latter’s shtick. The controversy likely dates back to a 2011 UK tour that featured Crüe, Def Leppard, and Steel Panther; In a 2017 interview, Steel Panther drummer Stix Zadinia (real name Darren Leader) said that Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx, in particular, were not fans of the parody act, and Leader said that he believed, “I think they thought that I we’re actually making fun. them directly. And I have to prove that until their minds are too big because there’s nothing we do that directly relates to them.”
The beef got another boost a few years ago when Starr emphasized in a 2019 interview with Little Punk People that if he could bring back any dead artist, it would be Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil. Although Neil wasn’t clearly dead, Starr went on the offensive, saying, “I’d bring Vince Neil back the next day because that guy’s dead.” The comment clearly angered Sixx, who fired back on Twitter, “Singing stealer [sic] panther can happen… wanna take @thevinceneil down?”
As of publication, the Mötley Crüe/Steel Panther mixtape is still live on Amazon Prime Video (a representative for the streaming service did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment). Hopefully Mötley Crüe didn’t feel too hard done by in the mix either – honest mistakes happen, and it’s not like they’ve been completely thrown out of style. For some odd reason, the poster still has the actual photo of Mötley Crüe hovering slightly over the metal Panther photo.
