Jim Root has addressed his earlier post urging Slipknot fans not to trust reports of Sid Wilson‘s firing, after the band confirmed it.
Jim Root told Slipknot fans to wait for more information before believing that Sid Wilson had been fired. Two weeks later the band confirmed it, and the guitarist has now returned to what he wrote.
His original post went up on July 31, hours after TMZ reported that Wilson was permanently out of the band, set to the 2008 track “‘Til We Die“.
Taking to his Instagram Stories, Root wrote: “Don’t believe every thing you read. Stop. Think. Take a breath. Sit with it for awhile. Maybe. Just maybe even wait until there’s more information.”
Following Friday’s announcement, a comment from Root has been circulating in the band’s fan communities:
“You couldn’t even believe what I wrote. At the time I wrote it… I didn’t know what to believe. I stand by it though. I still don’t think anyone should believe everything that they read. Time will tell. As it did for my post that didn’t age well.”
The remark reached fans through screenshots rather than a post on his main channels, and neither Root nor the band has expanded on it.
Stacy Thomson, wife of guitarist Mick Thomson, took a similar line in early August and has also been asked about it. She responded to TMZ‘s report by quoting “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off“: “My best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going with a girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it’s pretty serious.”
She followed it with: “Questions about my reference? Don’t believe everything you read on the internet, kids! (And yes Ferris buellers day off is a great movie)”
Criticised online after the confirmation, she replied: “oh stop it wasn’t true when TMZ posted it. And I assure you the guys ALL always give chances.”
Slipknot posted a statement on Friday afternoon reading: “Effective immediately, Slipknot will no longer be associated with Sid Wilson.”
“We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
“Slipknot“
It was taken down shortly afterwards and has not been reposted or replaced. The band handled the departures of Craig Jones and Jay Weinberg the same way in 2023, publishing announcements and then deleting them.
TMZ first reported the firing on July 31 and followed with a second story attributing the decision to the way Wilson had treated his bandmates. He declined to answer questions outside a Los Angeles recording studio in early August, and this week, co-hosting The World Scratch Invitational, he introduced himself to the crowd as “Sid, DJ Starscream/#0, from the world famous Slipknot.”
His ex-fiancée Kelly Osbourne posted a series of messages in early August that were widely read as referring to him, several of which she later deleted.
Wilson joined Slipknot in 1998 as the ninth member of the lineup that recorded the 1999 debut, taking the number 0 and handling turntables, keyboards and samples. He appears on every studio album the band have released. His exit leaves Corey Taylor, Shawn “Clown” Crahan, Root and Mick Thomson from the original nine.
