Ivan Moody Answers Fan Question About Tommy Vext – ‘This Dude’s a Waste of My Time’

Five Finger Death Punch singer Ivan Moody recently spoke about the band's former fill-in, Tommy Vext, in Q&A videos. In 2017 Vext filled in for Moody in Five Finger Death Punch while Moody dealt with addiction issues. You can watch the full clips of the sessions in the video below.

"Am I still friendly with Tommy Vext?" Moody starts. "Friendly? Yes… Yes. Friends? I'm not sure if we ever were anymore. Listen, I'm not going to get to far into it, but I don't understand people that believe half what they say and say half what they believe. I just don't get where politics got so massively involved with the kid. I think he got a little taste of it and the love that comes with picking a side and, in my opinion, got stuck. And, I've said this actually, that I wish he would just come out and say, 'Listen, I fucked up.'

"The thing about it is, and if you want the truth, is that…  I've been friends with Doc [Coyle] and John [Boecklin] from Bad Wolves for almost 20 years… So for me, that relationship goes deeper…. That whole collective, they're fucking rad people, man. And so when I hear about one of them getting choked the fuck out over something really minor, no."

The incident of "getting choked out" Moody is referring to was discussed by Bad Wolves guitarist Doc Coyle in the 2020'd Podcast. Coyle tells the story of an incident where he says Vext assaulted him on their tour bus while he refused to fight back.

"I watched something of him on stage where he's just going off," Moody continues. "[Impersonating Vext] 'You don't fucking know, man…' I'm just like, 'Play a song! Play a fucking song.' Write it down, put it into script and make music, which is what people are fucking paying for you to do!"

In another Q&A, he answered another question about Vext by saying, "This dude's a waste of my time, I don't know why you guys keep bringing him up. He's more worried about me than I am him… And P.S., the reason I don't talk shit online, and I don't need to, is because if I have a fucking problem with somebody, I'll just go to their fucking house. I'll show up and we can talk. Really talk… I've got no time for bullshit, man, and I ain't tryna make anyone popular by giving them my fucking yes or no. Suck it."

Vext and his former band, Bad Wolves, both aired their dirty laundry in a social media spat in September. Bad Wolves, and in particular Coyle, alleged that Vext was abusive toward them. In return, Vext claimed that their management was abusive toward him and that there was a conspiracy to kick him out of the band. There is also an on-going legal battle between Vext and the band's record label and management, Better Noise Music, and the company head, Allen Kovac.

"Desperate people do desperate things," the band repeated multiple times in their message on Twitter, adding, "Tommy Vext quit Bad Wolves last January to pursue a solo career. Unfortunately, he quickly realized that nobody cares about him as a solo artist and that he can't make or sell music on his own. He can't write his own music so he released an edited version of our first single with his vocals on it."

They used the hashtag #desperatepeopledodesperatethings.

Vext fired back by saying, "Imagine a [band] of hired guns handed a massive record deal because their singer saved another rockstars life from alcoholism. Imagine watching him repeatedly rejecting your bad ideas to work with A-list producers to convey a message and a testimony so powerful that it helped heal people. Imagine growing up in poverty [and] giving away 100 percent of the highest-selling rock song in 16 years to a family that lost their mother."

He continued by saying, "Imagine being ousted, ridiculed, falsely accused, betrayed and abandoned and still carrying on. Imagine having your hard work and blood and [sweat] stolen by vengeful incompetence [and] inexcusable greed. Imagine going through all this and still packing up booking a tour after a global pandemic and selling more tickets [than] your famous band's headlining shows ever did."

Ivan Moody on Former Five Death Punch Fill-in Tommy Vext