LOS ANGELES, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. actor and musician Jared Leto says his rock band, 30 Seconds to Mars, has not broken up and calls a record company's lawsuit "insane" and "overblown."
Leto posted the comments on the band's Web site over the weekend in to respond to rumors the group had called it quits in the wake of a $30 million lawsuit filed against it last week in Los Angeles by Virgin Records, Rolling Stone reported Monday.
Virgin and its parent EMI told reporters it suffered serious financial consequences when 30 Seconds to Mars failed to produce three of the five records it promised under a 1999 contract. Leto, however, says the contract is null and void and the record company sued only when the group began making a new record elsewhere several weeks ago.
Calling Virgin's suit "ridiculously overblown," "insane" and "totally unrealistic," Leto wrote, "We had been signed to our record contract for nine years. Basically, under California law, where we live and signed our deal, one cannot be bound to a contract for more than seven years … This law also gave us the legal right to explore other possible opportunities."
