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Ex-Foo Fighters Drummer Josh Freese Feels Like He Has ‘Got to Be Careful’ How He Talks About Being Fired From the Band

Josh Freese knows about being taken the wrong way, implying that some previous comments he made about the Foo Fighters were misconstrued.

By Stephen Andrew Galiher

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Josh Freese is a lot more “careful” with his words these days. The iconic drummer was hired to play with the Foo Fighters in 2023. He was fired just two years later, in 2025.

In a February 2026 interview with Modern Drummer, Freese opened up about life in the wake of his firing. Specifically, how the story was picked up and amplified by new media.

“The Foo Fighters are such a big, mainstream band that everything I say gets taken out of context, reposted, and blown out of proportion,” Freese told Modern Drummer. “People created headlines from one quick, simple comment I made on a podcast not long ago. It’s crazy. I’ve got to be careful about what I say about it. But I’ve got a lot to say about it, and I’ve been just trying to figure out how and when to go about really articulating it.”

Josh Freese replaced late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who passed away in 2022

“I have a couple small theories [as to why I was let go],” he added, “but I can’t really go into them right now. I did really enjoy the two years I spent with those guys, however, and they were good to me… until they weren’t.”

Freese went on to say that his time with the Foo Fighters was not all bad. He added that frontman Dave Grohl was someone he especially “loved” to work with.

“I enjoyed being around those guys,” he offered. “They were generous and good to me, and that’s what makes the whole thing even more of a mystery. I think I’m a pretty good read on people, and I did not see that coming.”

Previously, Freese said the Foo Fighters’ Music had not ‘Resonated’ With Him

In a September 2025 feature from The New York Times, months after his firing, Freese briefly discussed the situation. He said that it was not easy “coming in as Dave Grohl’s drummer, and the guy that’s supposed to save the day after the beloved Taylor Hawkins died.” He said that he felt like he needed to be “firing on all cylinders all the time.”

“It wasn’t music that I really resonated with,” he went on to say of playing with the band. Freese then added that he thinks his dismissal was “more an issue with their management” than the band members themselves.

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