Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has responded to allegations of grooming after video appeared online this weekend showing the 56-year-old interacting inappropriately with a woman many thought to be underage.
On social media, a number of graphic exchanges appeared online involving Ellefson and the woman. According to Metal Injection, they first appeared via Instagram user woahworst and included text exchanges and video calls — some of which were explicit.
In response, Ellefson — who has been married for 27 years and is a Lutheran pastor — has attempted to clarify the situation, issuing a statement this morning that says the woman is not underage and that the actions were consensual.
However, Ellefson said the leaked content is "certainly embarrassing" and claimed that the whole thing has been "taken out of context and manipulated to inflict maximum damage to my reputation my career and family."
In his response, the musician included a screenshot from the woman he is being accused of grooming. She wrote on social media, "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."
Ellefson's statement reads as follows:
As you may or not know, some private and personal conversations and interactions have surfaced online, released with ill intention by a third party who was not authorized to have them or share them. While certainly embarrassing, I want to address it as openly and honestly as possible. 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. The other party involved has made a statement which you can see below. I thank her for doing so and hope that this clarifies that the situation was not at all as presented. The 56-year-old, who has been married for 27 years, acknowledged his involvement with the woman, but clarified that she was not underage, as some have surmised, and that it was consensual.
The included statement from the woman, meanwhile, reads:
I'm the girl people are talking about in the posts about David Ellefson right now and I just want to tell my side of the story because people are sharing misinformation and the situation is getting out of hand without the truth being out there. Yes, those video calls did happen, but I was the one to initate [sic] 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. I was just naive enough to record him and share it with a friend without his permission. In the end, it was all consensual and all online. I don't know how it got to this point, but a lot of information is being left out by the people purposely trying to harm him. I would ask that anyone sharing these personal private videos or any misinformation about them to please stop.
You can see the full post below.
The timing couldn't be worse for Ellefson. Megadeth just announced their rescheduled 2021 tour with Lamb of God and just days ago he announced his new podcast Backstage with David Ellefson.
On social media, a number of graphic exchanges appeared online involving Ellefson and the woman. According to Metal Injection, they first appeared via Instagram user woahworst and included text exchanges and video calls — some of which were explicit.
In response, Ellefson — who has been married for 27 years and is a Lutheran pastor — has attempted to clarify the situation, issuing a statement this morning that says the woman is not underage and that the actions were consensual.
However, Ellefson said the leaked content is "certainly embarrassing" and claimed that the whole thing has been "taken out of context and manipulated to inflict maximum damage to my reputation my career and family."
In his response, the musician included a screenshot from the woman he is being accused of grooming. She wrote on social media, "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."
Ellefson's statement reads as follows:
As you may or not know, some private and personal conversations and interactions have surfaced online, released with ill intention by a third party who was not authorized to have them or share them. While certainly embarrassing, I want to address it as openly and honestly as possible. 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. The other party involved has made a statement which you can see below. I thank her for doing so and hope that this clarifies that the situation was not at all as presented. The 56-year-old, who has been married for 27 years, acknowledged his involvement with the woman, but clarified that she was not underage, as some have surmised, and that it was consensual.
The included statement from the woman, meanwhile, reads:
I'm the girl people are talking about in the posts about David Ellefson right now and I just want to tell my side of the story because people are sharing misinformation and the situation is getting out of hand without the truth being out there. Yes, those video calls did happen, but I was the one to initate [sic] 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. I was just naive enough to record him and share it with a friend without his permission. In the end, it was all consensual and all online. I don't know how it got to this point, but a lot of information is being left out by the people purposely trying to harm him. I would ask that anyone sharing these personal private videos or any misinformation about them to please stop.
You can see the full post below.
The timing couldn't be worse for Ellefson. Megadeth just announced their rescheduled 2021 tour with Lamb of God and just days ago he announced his new podcast Backstage with David Ellefson.