The DJ, who formed Krewella with the Yousafs in 2010 and began having problems with alcohol following the group's success, says the girls try to remove him to earn more money.
- Oct 1, 2014
AceShowbiz - Krewella has been making appearances without DJ Kris Trindl a.k.a. Rain Man in the past few months. It turns out that the founding member of the group spent some months in rehab to treat his alcohol problems before getting kicked out of the band for being sober by other members, Jahan Yousaf and her sister Yasmine Yousaf.
Trindl, who formed Krewella with the Yousafs back in 2010, has responded to the firing by suing the sisters. In a new lawsuit he filed in California state court on Monday, September 29, he explains that his problems with alcohol began following the group's success.
"From March of 2012 until March of 2013, it was non-stop music, good times and partying for the members of Krewella, and the money started rolling in," the lawsuit states. "Kris and the Yousaf sisters were public about their drinking and partying."
As they became busier and more famous, Trindl "used alcohol to try to cope with the pressure" and in late 2013, he "checked himself into a detox program and then a 30-day rehab program." Yousaf sisters then continued to tour as a duo while Trindl was in rehab.
After completing his rehab stint, Trindl rejoined the girls on the road, but they began treating him differently because he's sober and didn't party or drink anymore. The lawsuit says, "They thought he was depressed, although he explained it was just part of the recovery process." He claims the girls and the band's manager Jake Udell even staged an intervention to try to force him into rehab again, this time to treat his depression.
"At this time, Udell, the Yousaf sisters and others conspired to remove Kris from the group altogether," the suit continues. "Now that the band was successful, they figured they could always hire outside people to write and produce music for far less money than it would cost to continue splitting their income equally with Kris, as they have done [one-third to each member]."
Trindl is suing his former bandmates for at least $5 million, claiming the Yousefs violate an oath they made on August 6, 2010 to "put aside any other career plans outside of music and commit to Krewella." The three had "6-8-10" tattooed onto their bodies to commemorate the date.
