Riverdale's Ross Butler Denies Role in Plot to Steal Kurt Cobain's Guitar

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Riverdale Alum Denies Role in Plot to Steal Kurt Cobain's Guitar

By Shaun Manning

Published Oct 17, 2018

Ross Butler, who played Reggie Mantle on Riverdale, denies he conspired to murder the ex-husband of Francis Bean Cobain and steal the iconic guitar.

Last week's Riverdale premiere held a number of weird turns, but Archie's courtroom conflict pales in comparison to the real-life drama circling Ross Butler, who played Reggie Mantle in Season 1 before jumping to Netflix's 13 Reason Why. Butler has been accused of conspiring to murder Isaiah Silva, the ex-husband of artist and model Frances Bean Cobain, and steal the iconic guitar her father Kurt Cobain played on Nirvana's episode of MTV Unplugged. Butler denies any involvement in such a plot and has asked a judge to be dropped from Silva's lawsuit against him, Cobain's mother Courtney Love, and talent manager Sam Lutfi.

Francis Bean Cobain is the daughter of '90s grunge power couple Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and singer Courtney Love of Hole. She was not yet 2 years old in 1994 when her father committed suicide. Cobain married Silva in 2014, and Silva claims she gave him her father's guitar as an anniversary gift. That account was strongly contested when the couple divorced in 2017, but Silva was ultimately awarded the guitar as part of their settlement.'

Silva's lawsuit alleges that Butler was part of a scheme orchestrated by Love to recover the guitar, and that Lufti and two accomplices broke into his home by impersonating police officers, burglarized and sexually assaulted him, and then tried to kill him.

According to court documents, Butler claims he accompanied Lutfi to the home because they were concerned for Cobain and Silva after "they had gone silent after sending him some troubling text messages. Mr. Lutfi explained that he wanted to make sure that the two were okay." When they arrived, there were some unusual signs, including black sheets on the windows. “I then entered the house and was greeted calmly and amicably by Silva," Butler said. "Silva was frail, emaciated and had a terrible odor. The house was also messy and had a bad odor." Butler acknowledges the police were called at some point during the night, but that after speaking with everyone involved they left without incident.

"I never entered into a conspiracy or otherwise agreed to commit any crime against Silva," Butler said. The actor said he was surprised by the lawsuit, and is asking to be dismissed from all claims.

(via The Blast)