Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith recently disproved his quotes featured in a new Rolling Stone article about the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. The late drummer’s friends and colleagues gave interviews about his final months.
It includes quotes claiming that Hawkins privately expressed discomfort about Foo Fighters’ extensive tour schedule. The band’s representatives denied these comments.
The situation escalated last December when multiple reports stated that a Foo Fighters member lost consciousness onboard a plane in Chicago, though news reports from the time described him anonymously as “a member of Foo Fighters.” “He just said he was exhausted and collapsed, and they had to pump him full of IVs and stuff,” his friend, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith had reportedly said in the interview.
“He was dehydrated and all kinds of stuff.” (If Hawkins did lose consciousness on the plane, it’s unclear how or why it happened. When asked if Foo Fighters had comment on accounts that Taylor had lost consciousness on the plane, a rep said, “This is not true.”) After the incident, Smith said, Hawkins told Dave Grohl, “I can’t do it like this anymore.” Foo Fighters reps said ‘this is not true.’
Chad Smith apologizes
Chad Smith, who was among the sources discussing Hawkins’ final private conversations, has since released statements on Instagram and apologized to Hawkins’ Foo Fighters bandmates like Dave Grohl and family.
“Taylor was one of my best friends and I would do anything for his family,” Smith wrote. “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. 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.”
Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins shockingly passed away at the age of 50. The band was due to play on the same day of his death. The Foos were scheduled to play at the Festival Estereo Picnic in Bogota, Colombia. This led to the band canceling the rest of their South American tour.
The cause of Hawkins’ death is still not officially confirmed, but there are reports. ‘According to those close to him, the death could be related to the consumption of drugs.’ The Daily Mail reported this alleged statement. He had a history of drug abuse.
White powder ‘similar to cocaine’, and hallucinogens, were allegedly found in the five-star Casa Medina hotel room of Hawkins. Highly respected Colombian journalist Luis Carlos Velez, the Bogota-based director of radio station FM recently claimed that a police officer who entered Hawkins’ room had told prosecutors he saw a ‘cocaine-like’ white powder. Foo Fighters have canceled their 2022 tour dates.
