Noah Weiland, the son of late Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland, has refuted claims he is a “trust fund baby” in a new interview.
The up-and-coming musician told Rolling Stone that he wasn’t living off money from his father’s career. His father, late Velvet Revolver singer Scott, passed away back in 2015 due to an accidental overdose.
“I’m not a trust fund baby or anything like that,” he told the publication.
He continued: “I always get annoyed when people say that type of stuff. My dad was millions in debt when he died. My mom has always worked a normal job. And truthfully, even if my dad’s estate ever does get out of debt, I don’t even want that money. I want to make a career out of myself as much as possible.”
Noah was in rock band Suspect208 for a short time, a rock star ‘supergroup’ made up of Slash’s son London Hudson on drums and Robert Trujillo’s son Tye on bass. He was later dropped from the band for alleged drug use and went solo and released his alt-pop single ‘Yesterday’ last month.
Speaking about leaving the band, he explained to Rolling Stone: “I wasn’t necessarily an addict at that time. But they made it seem like they were trying to get me help or get me into treatment. They never did anything like that. That’s why I’m so confused.”
He added: “Everyone already thought of me as a drug addict. I was like, ‘If everyone already thinks I am, then what’s the point?’ I just gave up and actually became a drug addict. I felt like all the hard work I put in just vanished, and there was nothing I could do about it. That’s obviously a very childish mindset, but it’s where I was at the time.”
He went on to explain how his own struggles with addiction – something he’s now recovering from after a time in rehab – led him to think about his own father’s issues with addiction too. He noted: “It made me finally understand his situation. It made me realise it wasn’t his fault. He was just in too deep. He had too many demons. They caught up to him. It actually made me forgive him.”
He continued: “This is the happiest I’ve been in years,” he said. “My goal now is to become financially stable with music. I mean, I could say I want to be the biggest artist and take over, but realistically, I’m doing one thing at a time. I’m not in a rush to blow up overnight. I want to build a cult fan base. I’ve played a few concerts, and I want to make them feel like parties.”
Meanwhile, back in 2021, it was announced that Scott Weiland’s memoir Not Dead & Not For Sale is set to be adapted into a film titled Paper Heart. The film was picked up after production house Dark Pictures and producer Orian Williams acquired the book rights to the 2011 memoir, which Weiland penned with David Ritz.
The film will tell the story of Scott’s life, including his battles with addiction and his various comebacks.
The post Scott Weiland’s Son Noah says he’s “not a trust fund baby” after claiming his dad was “millions in debt” appeared first on NME.
