Bret Michaels Won't Sue Tony Awards For Onstage Collision

Despite fracturing his nose and busting his lip after colliding with a stage prop at the Tony Awards, Poison's Bret Michaels told People that he will not take legal action against the show's producers. "There's no lawsuit. I'm not doing any of that. I'm taking the high road," Michaels said.

Michaels was hit in the head by a prop that was lowered onto the stage following the band's performance of "Nothin' But a Good Time" with the cast of Rock of Ages. Immediately after the accident, the Tonys Twitter pronounced him uninjured and host Neil Patrick Harris made a "head-banging" joke at the top of the telecast. In the following days, Michaels and his reps criticized the show for issuing statements indicating he had "missed his mark" and for making light of the situation.

"All in all, I'd like to think I feel okay," Michaels told People. "But I got to be honest with you, I feel pretty beat up." Last week on his MySpace page, "Broadway Bret Michaels" admitted that he "got his bell rung." "I vaguely remember asking [bodyguard] Big John, 'do I have any teeth left in my mouth,' " Michaels wrote of the moments following impact. "Somebody handed me a towel to wipe the blood from my face and in my dazed state I recall staring at what seemed to be Shrek, a talking goat head and several monkey like creatures."

Michaels notes that the incident hasn't affected his relationship with Rock of Love Season Three winner Taya Parker. Bret tells the magazine that the pair are still "dating and having a great time." The injuries also apparently won't prevent Poison from starting their joint tour with Def Leppard and Cheap Trick, which kicks off June 23rd in Camden, New Jersey.

Related Stories:

• Bret Michaels Calls Tony Statements "Irresponsible"
• Bret Michaels' Reps Criticize Tony Awards, Host Neil Patrick Harris
• Bret Michaels' Broadway Souvenir: Nose Fracture From Tonys Mishap

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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