Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares has spoken out in support of David Ellefson after he was booted from Megadeth following accusations of sexual misconduct.

Ellefson, who founded Megadeth back in 1983, was recently accused of grooming an underage girl via messages and videos online.

Following the accusations surfacing two weeks ago, Megadeth released a statement addressing the allegations, writing: “We are aware of the recent statements regarding David Ellefson, and are watching developments closely,” the band said.

“As it relates to creativity and business, we are all familiar with one another. However, there are clearly aspects of David’s private life that he has kept to himself.”

Megadeth later revealed they had decided to dismiss Ellefson from the band.

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Now, Fear Factory rocker Cazares has spoken out during an appearance on Rocking With Jam Manwith with his thoughts on the controversial matter, claiming that Ellefson’s dismissal was “not fair at all”.

“It’s not fair at all… Well, we don’t really know what his relationship is with Dave Mustaine,” he said.

“I know that there’s been a lot of water under the bridge with those guys – I know they’ve had some turmoil issues that were going on.

“So, who knows? Who really knows? I don’t know. If it’s just based on what happened, then I would say it’s unfair. But I’m sure there’s stuff behind the scenes that we don’t know that’s going on…

“As Dave stated in the press release, he said it was a ‘strained relationship,’ so, obviously, some stuff was going on behind the scenes that we just don’t know about…

Cazares continued: “We’re in a whole new era now – everybody’s ready to destroy you and destroy your career without even giving anybody a second chance or without even actually finding out the truth. So, it’s unfortunate that’s where we’re at these days.”

Previously, Cazares had posted to social media following the departure of Ellefson from the metal group, saying: “I don’t know all the details but I feel bad for Dave Ellefson.”

Ellefson had also denied the allegations on his Instagram account, which he has since made private.

“As you may or not know, some private and personal conversations and interactions have surfaced online, released with ill intention by a third party who was not authorized to have them or share them,” he wrote.

“While certainly embarrassing, I want to address it as openly and honestly as possible. As much as it’s not something I’m proud of, these were private, adult interactions that were taken out of context and manipulated to inflict maximum damage to my reputation my career and family.”

The woman involved in the exchanges has also come forward on Instagram and confirmed that she was “always a consenting adult” and that the acts were “consensual”.

“Yes, those video calls did happen, but I was the one to initiate it and never was I underage, I was always a consenting adult. Nothing inappropriate ever happened before that. It was all consensual, I’m not a victim and I have not been groomed in the slightest as I was the one to initiate it,” the woman stated.

Ellefson today revealed to Rolling Stone that he would be pursuing legal action.

“Recently, a very private video was illegally posted on the internet and false allegations were made against me,” Ellefson says in a statement to the publication.

“The actions in the video were between two consenting adults and were recorded without my knowledge. I am working with Scottsdale Police Department in their investigation into charges regarding revenge pornography to be filed against the person who posted this video.

“Also, my lawyers are preparing a defamation lawsuit to be filed against this person. This person will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

You can read more about this topic on the Metal Observer.

‘Sweating Bullets’ by Megadeth:

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