Tom Petty’s widow and daughters are reportedly feuding over his unreleased music.
The ‘American Girl’ hitmaker died from an accidental overdose in October 2017 and while his wife, Dana York Petty, has field documents claiming she is in control of her late spouse’s estate, his two children from a previous relationship, Adria and Annakim have insisted they were also meant to be involved.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Dana has accused her step-daughters of blocking the release of solo material recorded by Tom 25 years ago, which she wanted to include with a box set to mark the 25th anniversary of his seminal album ‘Wildflowers’ – which would have generated over $1 million in royalties.
Adria is said to have attempted to stop the release because she was unhappy with the timing.
Dana also accused her of verbally attacking Tom’s bandmates and making it difficult for her to control the estate.
Adria allegedly wrote in an email to The Heartbreakers’ Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell: "What I don’t have the temperament for is having my entire life raped. Being disparaged. My dad being disgraced.
"I am sorry I am not a man and can not earn your respect through the work and deeds I do."
Another element of the dispute allegedly centres around plans to rename a park in honour of the ‘I Won’t Back Down’ hitmaker in his home city of Gainesville, Florida.
After the estate were asked to create artwork for a park sign, and a representative submitted an album cover image, Adria allegedly said: "Your name is not Petty and you don’t have the backbone to protect the estate from a horrible image like this one. Shame on you."
Adria is believed to have filed a petition with the probate court, accusing her step-mother of ignoring two of her late father’s wishes in his will, including a request to transfer the singer’s "artistic property" assets out of his trust and into a separate company managed by all three women.