Jason Newsted ‘Not Joining Megadeth,’ Says Wife

With Megadeth recently parting ways with David Ellefson and a new album and fast approaching tour on the way, there’s been plenty of speculation on who will fill the vacancy. But those thinking Jason Newsted would be an option can remove the former Metallica bassist from the list.

While a former Metallica musician joining Dave Mustaine’s Megadeth lineup would certainly add another piece of drama to the Mustaine-Metallica relationship and it’s easy to see why Newsted’s name would be floated in rumors, the bassist’s wife put an end to the speculation in an Instagram post.

In it, she stated, “Jason is not joining Megadeth. Peace to them. Listen to metal,” while using the rest of the post to remind fans that the social media shy musician does not have any accounts on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, OnlyFans and Tinder, speculating that anyone sending messages from any Newsted-related accounts on those sites was not the bassist and that people should proceed at their own risk when taking into account any info spread there.

Just last month, Newsted did provide an interview with the Florida Daily Post in which he discussed his physical limitations playing after undergoing several surgeries. While Newsted continues to play and perform several shows a year with his Chophouse Band, he admitted that playing with metal acts was likely no longer an option.

“I know for a fact I cannot play the way that I would want to play in [another Newsted-associated metal act] Voivod, Metallica, any of those bands. I don’t have the physicality to do that anymore. I only do six shows a year [with the Chophouse band], and I do them right,” stated the bassist.

“The surgeries kind of set me back,” Newsted added. “I kept playing music the best that I could, and I haven’t ever been able to come all the way back. I’m like 90-something-percent full. I can’t play the full Metallica stuff — I couldn’t do the show anymore like that.”

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Megadeth announced just last Monday (May 24) that they were parting ways with Ellefson. The announcement came two weeks after controversy erupted over several online interactions between the bassist and a woman had leaked online that included the bassist in a compromising position. At first, the woman in question was purported to be underage and there were accusations of the bassist “grooming” her, but the woman later came forth revealing she was not underage and was a consenting adult when the conversations happened.

Ellefson admitted his role in the “private and personal conversations,” maintaining that they were “adult interactions taken out of context.” He later deleted his Twitter account and set his Instagram account to private.

In a statement to Loudwire last Wednesday (May 26), Ellefson revealed that he was currently working with the Scottsdale Police Department with their investigation into pursuing revenge porn charges against the person who leaked the interactions. He also added that he was preparing a defamation lawsuit against the perpetrator as well. He concluded, “I am taking this time to be with my family. I wish my bandmates the best with their upcoming tour.”