Creed were one of the most successful bands of my lifetime, but frontman Scott Stapp is not enjoying a life of luxury these days. Stapp announced today in a video titled Public Statement #1 posted on Creed’s Facebook page and his personal account that he is “completely penniless” after the IRS froze his bank accounts. (Separately he states that someone has accessed his account online, changed his password, and cleaned out his savings.) He’s staying at a Holiday Inn after sleeping in his truck for two weeks. He mentions that a personal audit revealed that money had been stolen and royalty payments had not come through. He alludes to rumors that he’s back on drugs and says they’re false, and he repeatedly refers to his Christian faith as a basis for forgiving his accusers. He apologizes to his kids for embarrassing them with his prior alcoholism and says his wife is trying to get him committed. He also mentions the crisis in Ferguson, as you can see in this excerpt from the end of the video:

There are so many more important things going on than my issues, we can see on the news right now with the Ferguson case, but America’s not right. People’s civil rights are getting violated. People’s freedoms are getting violated. When someone can have all their money taken out of their bank account and no one’s held responsible, when someone can get targeted by the IRS because of a clerical error, when someone can get completely slandered and lies made up about them and post it all over the Internet and there’s no consequences for those people, there’s a problem. There’s definitely a problem. This is not the country that I grew up believing in. This is not the America that I want for my children and their future.

The Miami Herald reported this week that Stapp’s wife Jaclyn is seeking a divorce and full custody on their three children on the grounds that he’s been doing meth and steroids and is paranoid. Some of Stapp’s text messages to his wife included in the court documents:

“Florida is not safe. Biological weapons on the way. U have to leave with kids and meet me in Atlanta.”



“I’m coming to get you Satan and children. No mercy. You know how this ends. God created you and now God is ending you.”



“I wouldn’t doubt it if the CIA is behind Alcoholics Anonymous.”

Watch Stapp’s full 15-minute video below, which he posted to clear his name and find legal representation possibly from a Creed fan. He says he will continue posting videos.

UPDATE: According to TMZ, earlier this month Stapp was placed on a psych hold following drug-fueled paranoid delusions.