Ex-Offspring drummer Pete Parada sat down with Try That In a Small Town Podcast and recalled his exit from the band after refusing to get vaccinated.
The drummer talked about his diagnosis— Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disorder causing him to have problems with getting vaccines such as temporary paralysis and limbs shutting down. Parada recalled a phone call with The Offspring’s manager and how his stint with the band came to an end.
“He was new with the band he’d only been with them since Covid hit,” he said of the manager. “So I didn’t have a lot of history with this guy. 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.”
“He just basically laid it out. I tried to say, ‘Oh, you know, I’ve got a medical assumption.’ ‘I don’t care about your medical assumption.’ Just yelling, cutting me off. It wasn’t a conversation, trying to tell me that for the greater good, everyone’s got to do this. I’m just like, ‘That’s not a good enough reason for me, you’re not making an argument, you’re just making threats and yelling at me.’ He made it clear that I was either to get vaccinated or I’d be replaced,” the drummer recalled.
“The phone call was so shocking,” he continued. “So I wrote to the two guys in the band that were my boss. I laid out the phone call and how I didn’t appreciate it and [said], ‘Here’s all the reasons why I don’t want to do this and why I’m not able to do this.’ It didn’t matter. I tried to talk to them about him and I said, ‘You might fire me over this but you should know, this guy is not representing you well and if he’s treating me like this, he’s treating your crew even worse.'”
When asked if it was a long phone call, the drummer continued, “I tried when I brought that up. I was told, ‘That’s not the concern right now, he’s not the concern, your refusal to do this is the concern.’ So things deteriorated pretty rapidly after that and less than a week later I found all communication stopped. I had a flight in a hotel and stuff on hold to go to rehearsal, and a week later, I checked my Southwest app and that’s how I found out I was replaced because my flight was canceled,” he added.
Parada has been battling Guillain–Barré syndrome since childhood, and his doctor advised against the vaccine because of his condition. Pete had contracted the virus last year and recovered easily, but he was concerned about another round of Guillain–Barré syndrome triggered by the vaccine.
Parada had been the drummer for The Offspring for over ten years. Because of his decision not to get vaccinated, Parada was considered unsafe to be around in the studio and on tour, so in August 2021, the band parted ways with him. He shared a statement on Instagram, saying he understands why the band made the decision and holds no hard feelings, wishing them the best.
“Given my personal medical history and the side-effect profile of these jabs, my doctor has advised me not to get a shot at this time. I caught the virus over a year ago, it was mild for me – so I am confident I’d be able to handle it again, but I’m not so certain I’d survive another post-vaccination round of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, which dates back to my childhood and has evolved to be progressively worse over my lifetime. Unfortunately for me, (and my family – who is hoping to keep me around a bit longer) the risks far outweigh the benefits.”
“Since I am unable to comply with what is increasingly becoming an industry mandate – it has recently been decided that I am unsafe to be around, in the studio, and on tour. I mention this because you won’t be seeing me at these upcoming shows,” he continued.
Josh Freese took his place, but he was also replaced with Brandon Pertzborn a year later. Freese was unable to perform with the band due to his commitments with the Foo Fighters, after stepping in for the late Taylor Hawkins.
