In 2021, Pete Parada was dropped from the punk rock band, claiming it was “decided that I am unsafe to be around, in the studio and on tour”.
The drummer had said he 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 of Guillain-Barre syndrome as a child, along with “the side-effect profile of these jabs”.
Now, in an interview with podcast Try That In A Small Town, Parada sat down to discuss his exit from the band. He revealed that, despite declaring his doctor’s advice, the band did not accept the exemption – specifically, the band’s manager.
“He was new with the band. He’d only been with them since Covid hit. So I didn’t have a lot of history with this guy,” Parada said. “He chose to come at me like a flamethrower. I’ve gotten crappy phone calls before, this was the most abusive and threatening call I’ve ever had in my entire career.”
Parada claimed that the manager told him that he doesn’t “care about your medical exemption”, and that he was “just yelling” and cutting him off.
“He made it clear that I was either to get vaccinated or I’d be replaced,” he added. “The phone call was so shocking.” Watch the interview below.