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Megadeth axes cofounder Ellefson amid sexual misconduct allegations
The recent sex scandal embroiling David Ellefson has prompted the legendary band to cut all ties with its bassist and cofounder.
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Happier days: Bassist and cofounder Dave Ellefson (left) is pictured with bandmates (from second left) Dirk Verbeuren, Dave Mustaine and Kiko Loureiro at the 59th Grammy Awards, held on Feb. 12, 2017 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. (AFP/Mark Ralston )
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os Angeles-based heavy metal band Megadeth has dismissed David Ellefson amid sexual misconduct allegations over leaked explicit content featuring the cofounder-bassist.
"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," frontman Dave Mustane said in a statement posted on the band’s Twitter and Instagram accounts on May 24.
"While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed is enough to make working together impossible moving forward,” Mustane added.
The decision comes after sexually explicit videos involving the long-married bassist started to circulate online. According to Blabbermouth, Ellefson has released a statement on his Instagram account, now set to private, that the videos, while “certainly embarrassing”, are "private, adult interactions that were taken out of context and manipulated to inflict maximum damage to my reputation, my career and my family".
The 56-year-old also denied allegations that he was “grooming” the unnamed 19-year-old woman in the video by sharing a statement that he claimed was from the woman.
"I was always a consenting adult,” said the statement attributed to the woman. “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."
Ellefson said that the "private and personal conversations and interactions" were "released with ill intention by a third party who was not authorized to share them".
He also said that his legal team was preparing a defamation suit against this unnamed individual, Rolling Stone reported on May 26.
The band also addressed this, saying that it was “aware of the recent statements regarding David Ellefson, and are watching developments closely”, adding that despite being familiar with one another, there were “clearly aspects of David’s private life that he has kept to himself”.
As Megadeth announced their parting of ways with Ellefson, they also emphasized their excitement of seeing the fans in their upcoming “Metal Tour of the Year” with Lamb of God, and that their upcoming album was “almost complete”.
Read also: Megadeth rocks around 15,000 fans in Yogyakarta
