Amirault 1998 Part 2

1998: The Year the Facade Cracked - Inside Toby Amirault's Fight for Truth

Welcome back to our deep dive into the Kurt Cobain murder investigation. If there is one year that stands out as a massive turning point in the movement to expose the truth, it is 1998. It was a year defined by intense grassroots activism, major investigative breakthroughs, and the very public unraveling of Courtney Love's meticulously crafted PR image.

Led by internet maven and activist Toby Amirault, the online campaign demanding the Seattle Police Department reopen the case finally spilled out into the streets. Let's take a look at the pivotal events, protests, and scandals that made 1998 a watershed year for the Cobain investigation.

Taking It to the Streets: Protests and Boycotts

In 1998, Amirault transformed his online advocacy into physical, boots-on-the-ground activism. He formally announced the cancellation of his planned book, The People Vs. Courtney Love: The Murder of Kurt Cobain, deciding that his time and financial resources were better spent entirely on web advocacy and orchestrating public demonstrations.

His activism was bold and relentless:

The MTV VMA Vigil: On September 10, 1998, Amirault traveled to Universal City, California, staging a solitary five-hour protest outside the MTV Video Music Awards. Standing alone from 3:00 pm to 8:30 pm, he held signs reading "Courtney Love is a Murderer" and "The Media is Out of Control," directly targeting MTV's continued promotion of Love.

The Boston Common Rally: A few weeks later, on October 3, 1998, Amirault and two supporters held a highly successful three-hour protest on the Boston Common. They displayed bold placards and handed out over 1,000 informational flyers to tourists and locals.

Hitting the Wallet: Amirault didn't just protest; he organized comprehensive boycotts. He urged his followers to boycott MTV and its major corporate sponsors, including AT&T, Levi Strauss and Co., Pepsi, and Ford. He also strictly instructed fans not to buy new Nirvana merchandise or music, arguing that doing so would financially support a murderer, advising them to only buy used CDs or share with friends.

The Media Watchdog

Amirault operated as a fierce media watchdog throughout 1998, combatting the glowing, sympathetic coverage Love received from the mainstream press. He wrote scathing complaint letters to major publications, including Details magazine and The New Yorker, and openly criticized The Boston Phoenix for their 1,800-word, fawning review of Hole's album Celebrity Skin. He also called out Boston radio station WBCN for heavily promoting a Hole concert and playing their music incessantly.

Major Breakthroughs: Kurt and Courtney and the Bombshell Book

1998 saw the murder allegations finally reach the mainstream masses, thanks to two massive releases:

 1. Kurt and Courtney: British filmmaker Nick Broomfield's documentary faced heavy suppression in 1998. Courtney Love and her legal team successfully pressured the Sundance Film Festival to pull the film's premiere in January. However, the censorship backfired, generating massive free publicity. The film was shown at the alternative Slamdunk festival and was ultimately broadcast on British television (BBC-2) on October 31, 1998, to an audience of one million viewers.

 2. Who Killed Kurt Cobain?: In April 1998, investigative journalists Ian Halperin and Max Wallace released their bombshell book. Despite intense legal harassment from Love's private investigator Jack Palladino, the book became a massive success and ranked among the top 10 most requested titles by the nation's largest book distributor.

Courtney Love's 1998 Scandals: The Facade Crumbles

Back in 1997, Amirault predicted that Love's career would face severe PR problems, that she would become a Hollywood "pariah," and that she would rely on a massive, desperate PR campaign to uphold her image. In 1998, every single one of these predictions came true. Love's year was plagued by erratic behavior, violent outbursts, and public embarrassment:

The Celebrity Skin Ghostwriting Scandal: Hole's highly hyped album was marred by delays and ghostwriting allegations. Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan publicly claimed in Select magazine that he was the "svengali" behind the record, stating, "There would not be a new Hole album without me". Additionally, former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic revealed that the Hole b-side "Old Age" was actually an uncredited Nirvana song written by Kurt Cobain.

Violent Assault on a Journalist: In April 1998, at an L.A. fashion show, Love attacked photographer and journalist Belissa Cohen simply for taking her picture. Love allegedly pulled Cohen's hair, punched her in the face, and kneed her in the groin. Cohen formally sued Love for assault and battery in May 1998.

Draconian "Gag Orders": Love's fascistic attempts to control the press peaked when she forced UK journalists to sign a 17-page contract before interviewing her. The contract strictly prohibited them from asking about Kurt Cobain, Nick Broomfield's film, her father Hank Harrison, or her drug use.

The Tina Brown Feud: Love launched a profanity-laced tirade against former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown, harboring a deep grudge over a 1992 article that exposed Love's heroin use while pregnant.

The Disturbing Face Interview: The downward spiral culminated in November 1998, when the British magazine The Face published a cover story labeling Love a "psychopathic control freak". During her bizarre, defensive ramblings in the interview, Love notoriously stated about Kurt: "They killed him because he loved me". Amirault pointed to this as further confirmation of her profound psychological instability and guilt.

The Tragic Catalyst: The Copycat Suicides

While the boycotts, protests, and scandals dominated the headlines, the true, heartbreaking catalyst driving Amirault's 1998 activism was the human cost of the cover-up.

In a disturbing update, Amirault highlighted research indicating that 68 people worldwide had committed copycat suicides because they believed Kurt Cobain had killed himself. Young fans—including children as young as 11 and 12—were taking their own lives, leaving notes saying they had done it "for Kurt". For Amirault, exposing the truth wasn't just about a rock star; it was a desperate fight to protect the sanctity of human life and prevent further tragedy born from the suicide lie.

1998 proved that the truth could not be buried forever. The grassroots movement had forced the cracks in the official narrative wide open, setting the stage for the intense battles to come.

1998 Part II: The Newsgroup Wars, Plagiarism, and the Media Backlash

As 1998 progressed, the battle over Kurt Cobain's death wasn't just being fought in the streets and bookstores—it was raging on the early internet and in the pages of the music press. While Courtney Love attempted to mount a massive PR comeback with the release of Hole's album Celebrity Skin, the underground network of fans and investigators was busy dismantling her narrative piece by piece.

Here is a closer look at the digital wars, media skirmishes, and explosive revelations that rounded out Toby Amirault's 1998 campaign.

The Newsgroup Wars and Insider Leaks

By 1998, internet newsgroups had become the central nervous system for Cobain murder theorists and disillusioned Nirvana fans. Amirault's updates documented the shifting tide of public opinion, particularly in two distinct waves:

Spring 1998 (The Frustration): In May, fans flooded message boards to express their deep boredom and anger over the endless delays of Celebrity Skin. Users complained that Love was acting selfishly by prioritizing her failing movie career over her bandmates. More importantly, the newsgroups lit up after Dave Grohl appeared on The Howard Stern Show in the spring. Grohl confirmed the long-standing rumor that Kurt Cobain was actually in the process of breaking up Nirvana before his death. Crucially, when Stern pressed him, Grohl refused to dismiss the murder theory and refused to condemn private investigator Tom Grant.

Fall 1998 (The Demise of Hole): By November, the digital conversation had turned even darker. A former Seattle resident posting under the name "GKnight" shared explosive insider claims allegedly gathered with journalists Melissa Rossi and Jim Hogshire. GKnight claimed that on the day of Kurt's death, two frantic calls were made to Yellow Cab from the Cobain residence—a detail the cab company confirmed to police, though they refused to identify the caller. GKnight also pointed out that the coroner who examined Cobain (Dr. Nikolas Hartshorne) had once been very good friends with Courtney Love, further fueling claims of a cover-up. Around this time, another user, "UnslvdMyst," posted a viral essay on the "demise of Hole," heavily criticizing Love's power-driven attitude and noting that Hole was no longer a "real band" because they had to rely on Billy Corgan to write their music.

The "Old Age" Plagiarism Scandal

Courtney Love's musical credibility took a devastating hit in the spring of 1998. The Stranger, Seattle's alternative weekly, published a bombshell revelation from former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, who confirmed that the Hole b-side "Old Age" was actually an uncredited Nirvana song written by Kurt Cobain.

Kathleen Wilson, the music editor who broke the story, had been anonymously sent a cassette tape from the Nevermind sessions containing Cobain's original version. The arrangement was unmistakably the same as Hole's version, yet the music publishing company BMI had the song registered solely to Courtney Love. Amirault used this plagiarism scandal to highlight Love's parasitic nature, arguing she was incapable of sustaining her own career without stealing from her late husband.

Media Skirmishes: SPIN and Details

Amirault's role as a media watchdog meant he was constantly tracking how major magazines covered the widow.

SPIN Magazine's "Journalistically Sound" Jab: In October 1998, SPIN ran a cover story on Love that boldly labeled her a "Sellout, Bitch, Killer". Love was furious and demanded an apology. SPIN editor-in-chief Michael Hirschorn offered a highly backhanded apology, stating that while the language on the cover lacked humanity and was "hurtful," the terms used were actually "journalistically sound".

Boycotting Details: Conversely, when magazines fawned over Love, Amirault struck back. In March 1998, he formally canceled his subscription to Details magazine and wrote a scathing letter to the editor over a piece by Jonathan Gold. The article had been highly sympathetic to Love regarding her attempts to censor the Kurt and Courtney documentary, suggesting that punk rock was the only context in which her behavior made sense. Amirault fired back, calling Love a psychopath who had her husband "murdered in the same way a poacher slaughters a panda".

Amirault Cancels His Book Project

As 1998 drew to a close, Amirault made a strategic decision that would define his activism moving forward. He formally announced that he was canceling his own planned book on the case, which was to be titled The People Vs. Courtney Love: The Murder of Kurt Cobain.

He realized that with the explosive release of Nick Broomfield's Kurt and Courtney documentary and the publication of Ian Halperin and Max Wallace's Who Killed Kurt Cobain?, a third project was no longer necessary to bring the case to the mainstream. Canceling the book allowed Amirault to avoid accusations of financial opportunism (critics couldn't claim he was just in it to "sell books") and freed him to dedicate 100% of his time and resources to pure grassroots web advocacy, orchestrating public boycotts, and taking the fight directly to the streets.

1998 Part III: Corporate Desperation, Media Breakthroughs, and the Howard Stern Betrayal

Welcome to the third and final installment of our 1998 deep dive into Toby Amirault's campaign for justice in the Kurt Cobain murder investigation. While protests and public scandals grabbed the headlines, a massive tug-of-war was occurring behind the scenes between struggling corporate record labels, a hesitant mainstream media, and grassroots activists refusing to back down.

Here is how the rest of 1998 unfolded as Courtney Love's camp scrambled to maintain her image.

The Celebrity Skin Mirage and Geffen's Financial Crisis

By May of 1998, Rolling Stone reported that Hole's record label, Geffen Records (DGC), was experiencing severe financial troubles. The label wasn't just hoping Hole's much-delayed album Celebrity Skin would do well; they desperately needed it to be a massive hit to save the company. Amirault pointed to this financial desperation as the ultimate reason why the music industry was so fiercely committed to protecting the "suicide" myth—Hole and the Nirvana catalog were their brightest economic hopes.

Despite the massive corporate machine backing it, the album was a commercial disappointment. By the end of the year, SoundScan reported that the album had only sold 763,186 copies—falling 25% short of true platinum status, even though the label was buying back copies and resorting to desperate late-night TV commercials with 1-800 numbers to inflate the numbers.

Live Music Debacles and Diva Demands

Love's attempts to return to the stage in 1998 were riddled with embarrassing, erratic behavior.

Club Cherry Outburst: At a May 1, 1998 gig in West Hollywood, Love debuted a new song while flashing her breasts to the crowd. When a female fan yelled out that the song "sucked," Love screamed, "F*** you. I'm gonna kick your f***in' ass".

The 200 Cigarettes Diva: While filming the movie 200 Cigarettes in New York City, Love reportedly infuriated the crew by constantly complaining and refusing to leave her trailer. Co-workers anonymously labeled her a "bitch" and a "diva".

The Secret London Gig: In October 1998, Hole played a secret show at the Kentish Town Forum in London. True to form, Love bared her breast to the audience after demanding, "I'm not showing them until you lot get a lot louder!".

Mainstream Media Finally Bites

Despite Love's draconian gag orders and legal threats, 1998 was the year the mainstream press finally began covering the murder investigation with serious depth.

Calling the Bluff at the Roxie: After Love's lawyers successfully intimidated the Sundance Film Festival into censoring the Kurt and Courtney documentary in January, the Roxie Theater in San Francisco stepped up. The theater received threatening legal letters from Love's attorneys, but programmer Elliot Lavine and owner Bill Bannings courageously called her bluff, premiering the film on February 27, 1998. No lawsuit was ever filed.

The Toronto Sunday Sun Expose: On March 15, 1998, the Canadian newspaper ran a massive feature titled "How Did Kurt Cobain Die?". The article extensively detailed the missing fingerprints on the shotgun, the lethal 1.52 mg of heroin in Cobain's bloodstream, and the terrifying intimidation tactics utilized by Love's private investigator, Jack Palladino, to suppress Ian Halperin and Max Wallace's upcoming book.

The Boston Herald: On May 1, 1998, The Boston Herald published a piece focusing on the internet's role in the investigation, heavily featuring Amirault's website and his reports of facing "death threats, break-ins, intimidation and other illegalities".

The Washington Times: In July 1998, The Washington Times praised the online movement, specifically directing readers to Amirault's site, calling it the "most exhaustive" resource for the murder arguments.

The Sellouts: Howard Stern and Salon Magazine

As the truth gained traction, Amirault also documented the shocking hypocrisy of media figures who suddenly rushed to defend Love in 1998.

Howard Stern's Betrayal: In the spring of 1998, radio shock-jock Howard Stern had interviewed journalist Max Wallace and seemed open to the murder theory. But on September 28, 1998, Stern hosted Courtney Love on his show and did a complete about-face. He fiercely defended her, mocking the murder theories by joking, "Yeah—and she killed JFK too". Amirault was disgusted, dubbing Stern "Courtney Love's New Minister of Propaganda".

Salon Magazine's Moral Bankruptcy: In February 1998, Salon published a piece by Michelle Goldberg titled "Lady Macgrunge". The article reviewed the Kurt and Courtney documentary and conceded that Love was a "pathologically violent shrew at best and a murderer at worst". However, the author disturbingly concluded that because Love had achieved fame and glamour, "we still love her". Amirault wrote a furious letter to Salon, stating it was unconscionable to suggest that "maybe Courtney did have Cobain killed. What difference does it really make?!".

For Amirault, 1998 proved two things definitively: the corporate media was terrified of the truth, but the grassroots internet movement had finally grown too loud for the world to ignore.