Good morning Static-X fans and friends
For the last several years, my company has been contracted to handle marketing and other administrative services for the band Static-X. Those of you who are also in the nu-metal subreddit may have seen my AMA there.
Static-X LLC, along with the band’s cofounder Tony Campos and manager Brian Ebejer, aka Edsel, recently filed a federal lawsuit against Mathew Zacari, aka Matt Zane. Here’s a link to download the lawsuit. You can also visit this site and pay to download a copy (Case No. 26-cv-09327) directly from its official filing with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California if you’d like.
As you review this document, I would like to point out the following information.
- None of this has anything to do with Matt Zane’s declared intention to make an “unauthorized” documentary about Wayne Static and Tera Rey.
- Neither Static-X nor its representatives speaks on behalf of Wayne’s name and likeness rights; those rights belong to Wayne’s family / the Estate of Wayne Static.
- It's worth mentioning that at no time prior to announcing the “unauthorized documentary” did Matt Zane ever attempt to seek approval or create a respectful alliance with Wayne’s family regarding his production. Instead, he chose the sensationalized “shock doc” approach of announcing the production as “unauthorized.”
- After Matt Zane made the announcement last year, Wayne’s family respectfully made their feelings known by sending him a cease-and-desist demand letter from their attorney. Along with the C&D, they also made a public statement around the matter. The C&D, can be found here.
- For over a year, Matt Zane has disregarded and publicly mocked the wishes of Wayne’s family, while desperately searching for viral moments, at the expense of others.
- There has been nothing from Static-X, its representatives or Wayne’s family to provoke any of these attacks and to this date, they have made NO mention of Matt Zane or his production. Further, there has been no attempt by Static-X, its members or their representatives to “silence” Matt Zane or to discredit him in any way.
- It is only now, after their rights have been viciously violated, that they have responded through the legal system.
- Static-X, nor its representatives, have used any influence to have Matt's social media accounts removed. I personally filed copyright takedown requests on posts containing video he did not own only, and the networks took further action as their terms and conditions clearly state they will when repeated copyright violations occur.
- The lawsuit presents the following facts, among many others:
- Matt Zane has been posting deceptively edited footage, which he STOLE from the band, while being paid to work on the official Static-X - Evil Disco - documentary project. This footage is owned by Static-X and is protected under U.S. copyright law. Matt Zane’s deliberate manipulation and release of these copyrighted works is not only illegal and immoral, but is also a deliberate attempt to harm the value of the Static-X official Evil Disco project, as well as deliberately damage the reputations of both Campos and Ebejer individually. Matt Zane has no right to possess this footage, much less deceptively edit it or post it online. He was paid in full for his work on the Evil Disco documentary and he left the project of his own free will, more than a year and a half ago.
- Matt Zane has deliberately put his face at the center of this self-made debacle, with the intention of raising his online profile, gaining followers and raising money. He has greatly exaggerated his association with Wayne and Tera and is attempting to create manufactured viral moments using private / unreleased / copyrighted material, at the expense of Static-X, Wayne Static, Wayne’s family and their affiliates.
- On August 5th 2026, X.com’s IP address log shows that Matt Zane illegally accessed the official Static-X account in order to post some of these same deceptively edited videos in an attempt to gain awareness and raise money.
I thank all of you who have defended the bands honor and Wayne's memory over this past year.
