'Courtney Love Is Dead,' Says Courtney Love

Courtney Love has had it with her stage name, which, to hear her tell it, has become more like a slave name. “The name Courtney Love is a way to oppress me,” she said in a recent interview with NME magazine. “Courtney Love is dead.” From now on, she'll go by Courtney Michelle, which is almost her real name (she was born Courtney Michelle Harrison, the BBC clarifies). Is she serious? Who knows?

Love—sorry Michelle—lost custody of her daughter at the end of last year, and she admits the event unsettled her. Now she's back on the road with her band Hole, and she says Courtney Love isn't allowed on the bus. “We've all decided we don't like her anymore. We love her when she goes onstage, but I don't need her in the rest of my life.” (More Courtney Love stories.)