Friends of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins are speaking out following a recent article detailing the late musician’s final days.
Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith have both publicly apologized on social media for their involvement in Rolling Stone’s latest tribute to Hawkins’ life, with Smith calling the piece “sensationalized and misleading.”
In the article, titled “Inside Taylor Hawkins’ Final Days as a Foo Fighter,” Rolling Stone shared that they interviewed 20 people, including the drummer’s closest friends, about his “career, legacy, and outlook near the end of his life.”
The article alleged that Hawkins’ friends said that he was “hesitant about returning to the road” and “wasn’t sure he’d be able to remain a full-time member if they continued to tour at this pace.” It also revealed that Hawkins allegedly felt “vexed by the physicality required to play nearly three-hour concerts night after night.”
In the article, Cameron revealed that Hawkins and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl had a “heart-to-heart” in which Hawkins allegedly told the lead singer that he “couldn’t f—— do it anymore.”
However, following the article’s publication, Cameron posted a statement on Instagram clarifying his remarks in the story, which he assumed was going to be “a celebration of [Taylor’s] life and work.”
“My quotes were taken out of context and shaped into a narrative I had never intended,” he wrote in part. “Taylor was a dear friend, and a next level artist. I miss him. I have only the deepest love and respect for Taylor, Dave and the Foo Fighters families. I am truly sorry to have taken part in this interview and apologize that my participation may have caused harm to those for whom I have only the deepest respect and admiration.”
Those sentiments were similarly echoed by Smith in his own Instagram post. In the article, Smith shared that Hawkins once told him, “I can’t do it like this anymore.”
“I was asked by Rolling Stone to share some memories of our time together, which I thought was going to be the loving tribute he deserved,” Smith said. “Instead, the story they wrote was sensationalized and misleading, and had I known I never would have agreed to participate. I apologize to his family and musical friends for any pain this may have caused. I miss Taylor every day.”
Hawkins’ family did not comment on the article. The Foo Fighters and their management also declined interviews and stated, “Through a representative, they dispute Hawkins’ friends’ characterizations of how he was feeling.” A rep also refuted multiple comments from Hawkins’ friends throughout the piece.
E! News has reached out to Rolling Stone for comment.
Hawkins died on March 25 while on a South America tour with the Foo Fighters in Bogota, Colombia. While drugs were found in his system and his heart weighed double the normal weight, a cause of death has not been revealed. He is survived by his wife Alison and their three children: Oliver, Annabelle and Everleigh.
“The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins,” the band shared on their Instagram on March 25. “His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever. Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time.”
