Megadeth have announced that they have officially parted ways with bassist David Ellefson.
In a statement released today by mainman Dave Mustaine, he stated:
“We are informing our fans that David Ellefson is no longer playing with Megadeth and that we are officially parting ways with him. We do not take this decision lightly.
While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward.
We look forward to seeing our fans on the road this summer, and we cannot wait to share our brand new music with the world. It is almost complete.
Dave Mustaine
Megadeth
May 24th, 2021”
— Megadeth (@Megadeth) May 24, 2021
ICYMI, sexually explicit videos of Ellefson were posted to Twitter earlier this month. The clips were reportedly recorded in 2020 by a fan, and, initially, the videos led to accusations of child grooming. Later on, Ellefson and the other party involved both denied said accusations and claimed that it was consensual adult conduct.
In a no longer publicly accessible social media statement released by Ellefson, he said, “As you may or not know, some private and personal conversations and interactions have surfaced online, released with ill intention by a third party who was not authorized to have them or share them. While certainly embarrassing, I want to address it as openly and honestly as possible.”
Ellefson added, “As much as it’s not something I’m proud of, these were private, adult interactions that were taken out of context and manipulated to inflict maximum damage to my reputation, my career and family. The other party involved has made a statement which you can see below. I thank her for doing so and hope that this clarifies that the situation was not at all as presented.”
The woman involved said, “Yes, those video calls did happen, but I was the one to initiate them and never was I underage, I was always a consenting adult. Nothing inappropriate ever happened before that. It was all consensual, I’m not a victim and I have not been groomed in the slightest as I was the one to initiate it.”
In a social media post released on May 10th, Megadeth stated they were aware of the recent statements regarding Ellefson and that they were watching developments closely.
— Megadeth (@Megadeth) May 11, 2021
Megadeth are getting ready to embark on their rescheduled 2021 North American tour with Lamb of God, Trivium and In Flames. See all shows below.
Fri Aug 20 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Sat Aug 21 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Sun Aug 22 – Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
Tue Aug 24 – El Paso, TX – Don Haskins Center
Wed Aug 25 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
Fri Aug 27 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Sun Aug 29 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theatre
Tue Aug 31 – Reno, NV – Reno Events Center
Wed Sep 01 – Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheatre
Thu Sep 02 – Concord, CA – Concord Pavilion
Sat Sep 04 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
Sun Sep 05 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
Thu Sep 09 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Chicago
Sat Sep 11 – Danville, VA – Blue Ridge Festival*
Sun Sep 12 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
Mon Sep 13 – Boston, MA – Leader Bank Pavilion
Wed Sep 15 – Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion
Thu Sep 16 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Sat Sep 18 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
Sun Sep 19 – Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
Mon Sep 20 – Cincinnati, OH – PNC Pavilion
Wed Sep 22 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
Fri Sep 24 – Mount Pleasant, MI – Soaring Eagle Casino Amphitheatre
Sun Sep 26 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St. Louis
Tue Sep 28 – Minneapolis, MN – Armory
Thu Sep 30 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Fri Oct 01 – Laval, QC – Place Bell
Sat Oct 02 – Quebec City, QC – Centre Videotron
*Festival Date featuring all 4 bands
Get tickets on Ticketmaster.
