Despite Feeling "Beat Up" After Accident, Bret Michaels Won't Sue Tony Awards

Turns out the rumored “Bret Michaels vs. the Tony Awards” lawsuit won’t see the light of day. The Poison lead singer told People that he has no plans to sue the award show after being struck by a piece of scenery during the opening number of the June 9 telecast. “There’s no lawsuit,” he said. “I’m not doing any of that. I’m taking the high road.”

There have been conflicting statements since the accident, which happened on the stage of Radio City Music Hall as the rocker was finishing up performing “Nothin’ But a Good Time” with the cast of Broadway’s Rock of Ages. Immediately after the show, his publicist told People that Michaels was in good spirits backstage, despite suffering a split lip and a fractured nose. 

On June 11, however, a representative from Michaels Entertainment Group was critical of the Tonys, implying the singer was not informed about the “half-ton” descending set piece, which kept moving after striking Michaels. There was also finger-pointing at host Neil Patrick Harris for joking onstage about the accident and at the show’s producers, stating “had this incident happened to Liza Minnelli, Dolly Parton or Elton John, the Tonys would have at least issued a letter of concern.” At the same time, Michaels posted seemingly court-ready photos of his injuries on his MySpace page.

Happily, Michaels’ spirits have seemed to have lifted: “I want to make very clear to everybody that—first and foremost—I was honored to be asked to be at the Tonys. I’ve never done it before and in all my life it’s not something I thought I’d be on. I was really excited.” Still, he admits to the whole brouhaha having taken its toll. “I’d like to think I feel OK,” he said. “But I got to be honest with you, I feel pretty beat up.”

Michaels and Poison will kick off their upcoming tour with Cheap Trick and Def Leppard on June 23 at New Jersey’s Susquehanna Bank Center as scheduled.