Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and Pearl Jam’s Matt Cameron distanced themselves Tuesday from a Rolling Stone article in which they said Taylor Hawkins struggled with the Foo Fighters tour schedule prior to this death in March.
“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 wrote in a statement he shared on social media. “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.”
In his statement, Cameron wrote: “When I agreed to take part in the Rolling Stone article about Taylor, I assumed it would be a celebration of his life and work. My quotes were taken out of context and shaped into a narrative I had never intended.
“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 I apologize that my participation may have caused harm to those for whom I have only the deepest respect and admiration.”
Cameron was quoted in the article as saying that Hawkins had a “heart-to-heart” with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl. “He told me that he ‘couldn’t f**king do it anymore’ – those were his words,” he said. “So I guess they did come to some understanding, but it just seems like the touring schedule got even crazier after that.”
Smith had told Rolling Stone that after Hawkins lost consciousness on a flight from Los Angeles to Chicago last year, he told him: “I can’t do it like this anymore.”
The surviving members of Foo Fighters and Hawkins’ family declined to be interviewed by Rolling Stone but a rep for the band denied there was ever a “heart-to-heart” with Hawkins and Grohl and said it was “not true” that Hawkins collapsed on a flight.
Canadian singer Sass Jordan – who remained a friend of Hawkins after he played in her band – was quoted in the article as saying, “Honestly, I think he was just so tired. Tired of the whole game.”
Jordan retweeted a link to the article on Tuesday.
Hawkins was found dead on March 25 in his room at the Four Seasons Casa Medina in Bogotá, Colombia. He was 50.