Things have taken a surreal turn in the camp of CKY. Just days after bassist Mike Leon announced his departure, citing “toxicity” and “unprofessionalism,” frontman Chad I Ginsburg has publicly disputed the claims – insisting Leon was actually fired for “hating dogs.”
Taking to Instagram on February 20, Leon confirmed he would not appear at the band’s upcoming shows. The former Soulfly bassist described joining CKY as a lifelong ambition that gradually soured behind the scenes.
“I want to let you know that my time with CKY has come to an end,” Leon wrote. “Growing up, I was a huge fan of the band, and getting the opportunity to play with them was a dream come true. I genuinely enjoyed my time there, and it was fun… until it wasn’t.”
“For full transparency, I will not be participating in the band’s upcoming shows,” he continued. “As unfortunate as this is, given the circumstances, I believe this was the right move to make. The differences regarding logistics and business decisions, primarily driven by the actions of the band’s leader [Ginsburg], created internal issues that made an already stressful environment increasingly difficult to work in.”
Leon went further, alleging long-running problems within the band’s leadership.
“This unprofessionalism and lack of accountability was known well before I joined, and persisted throughout my time with the band, making day-to-day operations a constant challenge,” he wrote. “The love I had for the band blinded me to the red flags my peers and the band’s previous history had warned me about, especially surrounding the frontman, yet I chose to believe things would be different.”
“In all of my years of working in this industry, I have never experienced this level of toxicity from an individual, and it stings extra having been perpetrated by the very band that first inspired me to start my career as a musician.
“Music should be a source of joy, but the environment became a source of stress that ultimately outweighed the positive aspects of being part of the band I grew up loving. I will continue creating music, and I sincerely thank all of you for your unconditional support.”
Ginsburg, however, paints a drastically different picture. Responding via Instagram Stories (as reported by Stereogum), the guitarist flatly rejected Leon‘s claims.
“I don’t know what Mike Leon is talking about in his post. However, I do know the facts and the facts are, Mike, and you know them too, is that we fired you last night because you hate dogs and you didn’t want to tour with the dogs and you wanted more money and you weren’t happy with anything ever. So unfortunately it’s not working out, Mike. But what you wrote is fucking crazy, dude. Like, prove any of that fucking shit.”
Shortly after, Ginsburg posted an open call for Nashville-based bassists to DM audition tapes – suggesting the band is moving forward swiftly despite the public spat.
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