In a conversation with presenter and radio host Eddie Trunk , bassist David Ellefson spoke openly about his dismissal from Megadeth and gave his version of events, saying he was "disappointed" with how the situation unfolded. Ellefson was fired from the band after a sex scandal involving intimate videos he allegedly sent to a young woman.
“On the night [the videos leaked], some people said, ‘Hey, don’t say anything.’ Particularly, the Megadeth team didn’t want me to say anything, but my legal team said, ‘Hey, we think you should say something. I think some people did some pretty dirty things and made some false accusations about you, and you have every right to defend yourself.’ And I defended myself. Eventually, that led to my dismissal from Megadeth, but I have every right, as anyone does, to defend myself, especially when someone makes false accusations like that,” Ellefson recounts.
The " false accusations " mentioned by the musician refer to rumors that the young woman who received the intimate videos from Ellefson was underage when their contact began, something denied by the bassist. Both parties stated that all sexual encounters were consensual.
David Ellefson also stated that Megadeth's management originally spoke of releasing a joint statement to him, but that this did not happen, which left him "disappointed" with how things proceeded. The bassist also revealed that he holds no bitter feelings towards his former bandmates.
“There’s no ill will between us, believe it or not… I wished him the best in my original statement and I meant it,” says Ellefson. “This is a group I helped form over almost 40 years. All the songs I hear on the radio are songs I participated in and we built a great legacy. I still consider them family and my DNA is in every part [of the band]. I don’t think it’s possible to build something of this size together and then suddenly you’re out and that’s it.”
Ellefson also stated that he was unaware of the "tense relationship" mentioned by Dave Mustaine in Megadeth's official statement, asserting that they are both "grown men" who "have opinions."
READ ALSO: David Ellefson speaks for the first time after being fired from Megadeth: “I’m perfectly happy”