Megadeth cut ties with long-time bassist David Ellefson over a leaked video of the rocker ''grooming'' and masturbating online. Days after the band released their official parting statement, Ellefson released a counter-statement looking forward to filing a lawsuit against his former bandmates.
Megadeth released an official statement on May 24 after the leaked footage between the 56-year old musician and another woman went viral. Dave Mustaine, Megadeth's frontman, spoke for the band and announced the intention to part ways with their bassist.
Strained Relationship After the Leaked Video
"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," Mustaine shared.
Days after the announcement, Ellefson is ready to take action and has spoken about the matter in an interview.
"Recently, a very private video was illegally posted on the internet and false allegations were made against me. The actions in the video were between two consenting adults and were recorded without my knowledge. I am working with Scottsdale Police Department in their investigation into charges regarding revenge pornography to be filed against the person who posted this video. Also, my lawyers are preparing a defamation lawsuit to be filed against this person. This person will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," he said during the interview.
Not Underage, All Consensual
The woman involved backed up Ellefson's statement. Using the username' edaphosauruses,' she cleared the negative comments against her and the musician. She said that she is not underage during the filming of the act. Further, she supported David Ellefson, saying that she was not 'groomed.'
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"I'm the girl people are talking about in the posts right now, and I just want to tell my side of the story because people are sharing misinformation, and the situation is getting out of hand without the truth being out there."
She further asserted that the act was all consensual.
"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," she wrote in her post.
Rollingstone earlier learned that Ellefson met with the Scottsdale Police Department on Wednesday, according to a report from Sergeant Kevin Quon.
David Ellefson played as bassist and joined Megadeth since the band's birth in 1983. He stayed and toured with them until they broke up in 2002. Ellefson joined the band again in 2010 up to this year. The group has a scheduled tour with the band Lamb of God on August 20 in Austin. They called the tour the Metal Tour of the Year. They are also one of the performers at Slipknot's Knotfest in September. The heavy metal band has not yet announced who is taking David Ellefson's place.
Megadeth is one of the most successful American heavy metal bands selling 50 million records worldwide. In its entire musical career, the band earned twelve Grammy nominations. They won the Best Metal Performance Award for their song 'Dystopia' in 2017. Megadeth fans are often called Droogies.
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