Jeff Scott Soto received a tough question about whether Dave Mustaine "overreacted" when he fired David Ellefson from his band, Megadeth.
In May 2021, Megadeth lost its then-bassist after NSFW videos and text messages involving him went viral on Twitter. Ellefson was also tied in a sexual misconduct scandal, leading Mustaine to remove him from the group immediately.
Currently, Ellefson collaborates with Soto in their Ellefson-Soto project.
In a recent interview with Brazilian music journalist Igor Miranda on YouTube, the singer answered the question about whether Mustaine unfairly removed Ellefson from the band.
According to Soto, he did not truly want to comment on such an issue as he refused to make a headline out of anything. However, he still shared his two cents, saying that something was already happening before Ellefson was fired.
"My personal opinion is I think there was already trouble in the water, I think there was already something happening, and maybe he was looking for a reason or an excuse to end it," he said. "And that's just my own personal feeling. But without getting too into it, because I don't wanna be in the headlines."
He added that Mustaine seemingly had been looking for a reason to fire Ellefson. So when his damaging scandal emerged, the rocker reportedly used that one to oust the bassist.
David Ellefson's Issue, Removal From Megadeth Explored
After the damaging claims emerged, Ellefson addressed the issue and clarified that he had never groomed an underage fan. He, however, admitted exchanging sexual text messages with a Dutch teenager and had virtual "sexual encounters" with her.
However, the teenager reportedly captured the videos without his consent and shared them with her friends.
He also reacted to Mustaine's statement dated May 24, 2021, when he announced Ellefson's departure from the band.
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According to Ellefson, he was not aware of the tension he and Mustaine had. But he noted that his former bandmate started bossing around when Megadeth was re-formed in 2004 following its initial disbandment in 2002.
He also addressed it on an episode of the 2020'd podcast. At that time, he described that his "former boss" was "abusive" when he handled the firing.
Ellefson served as Megadeth's bassist from 1983 to 2002. He rejoined the band in 2010 until he was fired. He was replaced in the band by James Lomenzo, another former Megadeth bassist.
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