News•November 10, 2015 10:08 AM ET•9,176 views

Max Cavalera ordered to pay $13,000 for libel

Max Cavalera, he of Sepultura and Soulfly notoriety, has been ordered to pay roughly $13,000 in damages to his former sister-in-law for allegedly libeling her in his 2013 autobiography, My Bloody Roots: From Sepultura To Soulfly And Beyond. Monika Bass Cavalera, who became Sepultura's manager a few years after Max Cavalera left the band, filed the lawsuit because she was called a "bitch" in the book, and was alleged to have "tried to pick [Max] up" before eventually linking up with his brother, and Sepultura drummer, Igor Cavalera. Here are some excerpts:

"I never liked Igor's wife. She was a bitch. They're finally divorced now, thank God. When we first met her, she tried to pick me up, but I didn't want anything to do with her. A couple of weeks later, she was with my brother, which I always felt was kinda weird, like he was the second-best option or something. That always bugged me. But he fell in love with her anyway." ... "There was something about the way [Monika] talked to [Igor] that always bothered me. She'd say stuff like, 'My father is rich: he can provide me with a big house and a great life. You'd better do better than that.' In front of everybody. I couldn't stand her, man. I still can't. I found out later that she became [Sepultura's] manager and was the person who wanted and took Gloria's [Cavalera] job. And she was a dental assistant! How does a dental assistant become a manager? Unbelievable."

The lawsuit was filed in 2014 and Monika Bass Cavalera sought approximately $260,000 in damages. In late October in São Paulo, a judge ordered Max Cavalera to pay $13,000 in damages and to cover Monika Bass Cavalera's legal fees. Max Cavalera is also required to recant his statements from the book in three separate Brazilian newspapers.