Legendary rock drummer Josh Freese has opened up about his exit from the FOO FIGHTERS in May 2025, two years after he joined the band.

In a recent interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk," Freese explained that everything he says gets taken out of context and blown out of proportion due to the band's massive mainstream following.

He stated: "The FOO FIGHTERS are such a big, mainstream band that everything I say gets taken out of context, reposted, and blown out of proportion." He continued: "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," referencing his exit from the band.

Freese was recruited to fill the vacancy left by the late Taylor Hawkins in May 2023, but he departed two years later.

He shared that he enjoyed playing with the FOO FIGHTERS and loved having frontman Dave Grohl as a bandleader, whom he respects as a drummer first and foremost.

However, Freese's exit was met with surprise when Ilan Rubin, the NINE INCH NAILS drummer who had joined the band after Freese left in 2009, took over the drumming throne for the FOO FIGHTERS.

This move raised eyebrows due to its peculiar coincidence, with Freese filling the same position for TRENT REZNOR's NINE INCH NAILS shortly after.

In his exit statement on Instagram, Freese noted that the FOO FIGHTERS called him earlier to inform him of their decision to "go in a different direction" with their drummer, without providing any reason.

He later shared a humorous list of possible reasons he might have been fired, including never growing a beard or whistling "My Hero" for a week solid on tour.

The FOO FIGHTERS' frontman Dave Grohl paid tribute to Freese in an extensive July 2025 letter celebrating the band's 30th anniversary.

Meanwhile, Freese released his new album "Just A Minute, Vol.

2" in November 2025 via Loosegroove Records, featuring 25 tracks precisely one minute each.

Freese continues to be celebrated as one of modern rock music's most revered drummers, having kept time for iconic bands like GUNS N' ROSES, WEEZER, FOO FIGHTERS, A PERFECT CIRCLE and NINE INCH NAILS.

He has also breathed new life into legendary acts like DEVO and THE REPLACEMENTS through his extensive discography of hundreds of studio recordings with artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry, THE DWARVES and Lana Del Rey.