Ex-Offspring drummer Pete Parada just lately sat down for an interview with the podcast “Strive That In a Small City,” throughout which he recalled his 2021 exit from the band after he refused to get vaccinated.
Parada beforehand revealed he was recognized with Guillain-Barre syndrome as a toddler and says that his physician suggested towards getting the shot due to his situation, which he claims causes him issues like short-term paralysis.
Recalling a telephone name he had with The Offspring’s supervisor about how his time with the band got here to an finish, Parada stated:
“He was new with the band. He’d solely been with them since Covid hit. So I didn’t have loads of historical past with this man. He selected to come back at me like a flamethrower. I’ve gotten crappy telephone calls earlier than, this was probably the most abusive and threatening name I’ve ever had in my whole profession.”
“He simply mainly laid it out. I attempted to say, ‘Oh, you recognize, I’ve bought a medical exemption.’ ‘I don’t care about your medical exemption.’ Simply yelling, chopping me off. It wasn’t a dialog, attempting to inform me that for the larger good, everybody’s bought to do that. I’m identical to, ‘That’s not a ok purpose for me, you’re not making an argument, you’re simply making threats and yelling at me.’ He made it clear that I used to be both to get vaccinated or I’d get replaced.”
“The telephone name was so stunning. So I wrote to the 2 guys within the band that have been my boss. I laid out the telephone name and the way I didn’t recognize it and [said], ‘Right here’s all of the explanation why I don’t need to do that and why I’m not ready to do that.’ It didn’t matter. I attempted to speak to them about him and I stated, ‘You may hearth me over this however you must know, this man is just not representing you nicely and if he’s treating me like this, he’s treating your crew even worse.’”
“…I used to be advised, ‘That’s not the priority proper now, he’s not the priority, your refusal to do that is the priority.’ So issues deteriorated fairly quickly after that and fewer than per week later I discovered all communication stopped. I had a flight and a lodge and stuff on maintain to go to rehearsal, and per week later, I checked my Southwest app and that’s how I came upon I used to be changed as a result of my flight was canceled.”
In August 2021, when The Offspring introduced his departure after being with the band for almost 15 years, Parada posted an announcement to Instagram:
“Given my private medical historical past and the side-effect profile of those jabs, my physician has suggested me to not get a shot right now. I caught the virus over a 12 months in the past, it was delicate for me – so I’m assured I’d be capable to deal with it once more, however I’m not so sure I’d survive one other post-vaccination spherical of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, which dates again to my childhood and has developed to be progressively worse over my lifetime. Sadly for me, (and my household – who’s hoping to maintain me round a bit longer) the dangers far outweigh the advantages.
“Since I’m unable to adjust to what’s more and more turning into an trade mandate – it has just lately been determined that I’m unsafe to be round, within the studio, and on tour. I point out this since you received’t be seeing me at these upcoming exhibits.”
