The Offspring have apparently dropped drummer Pete Parada, who has attributed the split to his decision not to get the COVID-19 vaccine under advice from his doctor.
The musician, who has performed with the band since 2007, revealed his apparent departure from the band on Instagram yesterday (August 3). Parada said that his decision not to get vaccinated has rendered him “unable to comply with what is increasingly becoming an industry mandate”, and as such “it has recently been decided that I am unsafe to be around, in the studio and on tour”. “You won’t be seeing me at these upcoming shows,” he said.
The drummer said he had decided not to get vaccinated after consulting with his doctor, who advised him “not to get a shot at this time” given his personal medical history and “the side-effect profile of these jabs”.
“I caught the virus over a year ago, it was mild for me – so I am confident I’d be able to handle it again, but I’m not so certain I’d survive another post-vaccination round of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, which dates back to my childhood and has evolved to be progressively worse over my lifetime,” he explained.
“Unfortunately for me, (and my family – who is hoping to keep me around a bit longer) the risks far outweigh the benefits.”
The Offspring have yet to publicly acknowledge Parada’s departure, but the drummer said in his post that he bears the band no ill will. “I have no negative feelings towards my band,” he wrote. “They’re doing what they believe is best for them, while I am doing the same.”
Read Parada’s full statement below.
In his statement, Parada also said that he wanted to share his story “so that anyone else experiencing the agony and isolation of getting left behind right now knows they’re not entirely alone”.
“There are countless folks (like me) for whom these shots carry a greater risk than the virus,” he wrote. “Most of us don’t publicly share a private decision we made in careful consideration with our doctors. We know it’s not an easy conversation to unfold.”
“I hope we can learn to make room for all the perspectives and fears that are happening currently,” he added. “Let’s avoid the unfortunate tendency to dominate, dehumanise and shout down at each other. The hesitant population is not a monolithic group. All voices deserve to be heard.”
In April, The Offspring released their tenth studio album, ‘Let the Bad Times Roll’, which marked their first full-length in nine years. Parada played drums on the entire effort, having only appeared on just four of the tracks on 2012’s ‘Days Go By’.
The Offspring will begin touring in the US this month. The band also have a November tour in the UK and Ireland lined up with openers The Hives.
Last week, the band debuted ‘Cockpit Karaoke’, their own take on James Corden’s popular talk-show segment ‘Carpool Karaoke’. In the clip, frontman Bryan “Dexter” Holland and guitarist Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman sang along to some of the band’s biggest hits from inside a private jet flown by Holland, who is a licensed pilot.
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