David Ellefson issues statement after Megadeth fires him

Gaia Writer

Megadeth officially parted ways with founding bassist David Ellefson following allegations that he was grooming an underaged girl online. "We do not take this decision lightly," Dave Mustaine wrote in a statement. "While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed is now enough to make working together impossible moving forward."

Ellefson has now released a new statement of his own to Rolling Stone. In it, he says he will be pressing charges against the person who posted video of him with the person he is accused of grooming, suing them for defamation, and that "the actions in the video were between two consenting adults and were recorded without my knowledge." Here is the statement in full:

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. I am taking this time to be with my family. I wish my bandmates the best with their upcoming tour.

Ellefson previously shared a post allegedly made by the person he was accused of grooming, which read, in part, "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."

He also said, "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."