The drummer for the US band “The Offspring” has claimed that he has been kicked out of the band for refusing a covid jab on medical grounds. Pete Parada said his doctor advised him against taking the jab because he has a rare autoimmune disorder.
The band had a massive hit with the song “Pretty Fly For A White Guy” in 1998. According to the BBC news website:
He (Parada) wrote on Instagram that he’s “unable to comply with what is increasingly becoming an industry mandate”. As a result, “it has recently been decided that I am unsafe to be around, in the studio and on tour”, he said.
The band, who are due to start a US tour on 8 August, have not responded to his comments. Parada joined the group in 2007 and it is not clear whether he has now left permanently.
Parada has had Guillain-Barré syndrome since childhood. The condition causes the body’s immune system to attack and damage nerves. Parada says that it has worsened over the years. He said that for him, the risks of getting jabbed outweigh the benefits.
He added that he had “no negative feelings towards my band” and that, “they’re doing what they believe is best for them, while I am doing the same, but people should be free to make a choice about the vaccine unburdened by coercion.”
If Parada’s story is true, he can clearly demonstrate that he was wrongfully dismissed from the band and also discriminated against based on his medical condition.
Remember the old days when rock stars would challenge the establishment through their music? Those days seem a long way away now.
