Ex-Megadeth bassist David Ellefson was fired from the band back in May after a much-publicized sexual affair surfaced between Ellefson and an unnamed Dutch woman. The scandal began when a video of Ellefson masturbating during a video call surfaced online. Ellefson has since admitted to having a relationship with the woman and is currently in the process of filing revenge porn charges, alongside a defamation lawsuit, against the video leaker.
In a recent interview, Ellefson said Megadeth wasn't happy that he addressed the situation before they released a statement, which ultimately led to his firing. Now in an interview with Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk (transcribed by Blabbermouth), Ellefson said his relationship with the Dutch woman was not illegal despite the initial claims that he was "grooming" her.
"And any allegations of anything being illegal [are false]. There was nothing. And that's why I immediately hired a criminal lawyer. I went right to the police department. And just for the record, the bad guy doesn't go to the police department. Okay? So, just to be clear. The guy who didn't do anything wrong, he goes to the police department. That's why I went to the police department and filed a police report and let them deal with it.
"I think there was a big fear of — there's always this talk of cancel culture and all this stuff. And I was, like, 'Listen, that was not me.' And I had every right to stand up against that and defend myself against it. And I just turned that over to the lawyers and police department and let them deal with it, and they did."
Trunk also brought up that leaking videos like the aformentioned would likely be illegal, Ellefson agreed.
"A hundred percent. That's why I didn't hire a civil lawyer to sue people for a million bucks. I hired a criminal lawyer, and what they do is prosecute to put people in jail. 'Cause those were the crimes. You can't just go do shit like that — put stuff out there, content — and not have a penalty. That is the crime. And I think people just think they can — and not everybody; I'm not saying all people — but there is a faction that they just think that that could be just done as a joke and for fun, and it can't. Of course, it's the Internet, so people live in foreign countries; there's all this stuff. That's why the best thing, I think, is to, first of all, just get away from those platforms because that is a breeding ground for that society to do that."
Ellefson has since formed a new band called The Lucid and has been staying mostly quiet otherwise.
