Dave Mustaine has shared his memories of firing his long-time Megadeth colleague and former friend David Ellefson in a new extract from his forthcoming memoir, shared exclusively with Rolling Stone.
Mustaine sacked Megadeth's long-standing bassist in May 2021, after footage emerged online of Ellefson engaging in what he admitted were “private, adult interactions” with a fan.
At the time, the-then 56-year-old bassist said that the graphic video footage and texts were “taken out of context and manipulated to inflict maximum damage to my reputation, my career and family", and he later suggested that he would sue for defamation if the source of the 'revenge porn' leaks could be identified.
Within days, Ellefson was dismissed from the band, with Dave Mustaine writing, "We are informing our fans that David Ellefson is no longer playing with Megadeth. We do not take this decision lightly. 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."
In the extract from his new book, In My Darkest Hour, Mustaine reflects on the situation.
"I found out about the scandal the same way that everyone else found out: I heard about it online. On May 10, 2021, sexually explicit videos of David Ellefson masturbating appeared on Twitter. The videos resulted from an online interaction with a nineteen-year-old Megadeth fan with whom Ellefson had engaged in some sort of relationship. When more details were revealed, the story quickly went viral. It was impossible to separate fact from fiction, truth from fantasy, as the internet exploded in typically histrionic fashion. But this much was clear: that was definitely David Ellefson, Megadeth bass player, in the videos."
Mustaine goes on to say that he was "reevaluating my nearly 40-year relationship with David and the turbulence it had so often caused in my life".
"We had played a lot of great music together," he acknowedges in the book. "We were codependent junkies, feeding and fueling each other’s addictions. Ultimately, we had grown apart, trust shattered (at least for me) by David’s 2004 lawsuit after the band’s breakup."
[Ellefson had filed a lawsuit against Mustaine in 2004, claiming that he was owed millions in outstanding royalties. The case was dismissed].
"Would David have remained a member of Megadeth if that video had not surfaced?" Mustaine muses. "Who’s to say? I’ve seen enough guys come and go with Megadeth, and I’ve experienced enough upheaval with David to know that the end was likely near. But, certainly, the scandal hastened the process."
In 2022, Mustaine discussed Ellefson's removal from the band in a Metal Hammer interview.
"Let me just say this – it was a hard decision that had to be made," he said. "There were a lot of people involved and I had to make a decision, because unfortunately, when you’re the leader, you’re the one that has to suck it up and face the music.
"All I wanted to do was make a clean break, and not hurt anyone, not hurt the fans and not hurt him," he continues. "I just wanted to move on, and I hope the gentleman concerned is doing okay."
In 2024, Ellefson also discussed the subject with Metal Hammer.
"There’s two sides to it," he said. "One: when you bare it all, you’ve got nothing to hide. Fuck it, now you can truly be yourself! We all come into the world with our birthday suit on, so what are we ashamed of? What I feel the worst about is the embarrassment that it caused some people, like my family, who didn’t deserve it."
Dave Mustaine's memoir will be released on September 24.
