David Ellefson on the sex scandal that got him fired from Megadeth: “We all come into the world with our birthday suit on”

nme.com:

David Ellefson has opened up about the sex scandal that led to him being fired from Megadeth.In 2021, allegations against the former Megadeth bassist surfaced after several explicit screenshots and videos – which Ellefson said were “some private and personal conversations and interactions” – were shared on social media with some claiming that he’d groomed an underage girl.Ellefson denied any wrongdoing at the time saying explicit text messages were between consenting adults and that the woman was not underage at the time.That same year, he filed revenge-porn charges against the person whom he alleged illegally leaked a video and screenshots that prompted the allegations against him, and he met police in Scottsdale, Arizona, pursue the charges.The situation has now been resolved and the ex-bassist took the time to reflect on the incident. “There’s two sides to it.

One: when you bare it all, you’ve got nothing to hide. Fuck it, now you can truly be yourself,” he told Metal Hammer.A post shared by David Ellefson (@davidellefsonbass)He continued: “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. Out of respect for them, I’m going to keep the family dynamic off the table [during interviews].

That’s at their request.”Elsewhere in the interview, Ellefson explained that Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine did not leave an opportunity for him to return to the band later on after the scandal.“Dave, his manager and his lawyer [called me after the scandal].