Matt Cameron Says His Taylor Hawkins Remarks Taken Out of Context

Matt Cameron has responded to a Rolling Stone report this week that posited that Taylor Hawkins, the late drummer of Foo Fighters, wanted to tour less with the Dave Grohl-led rock band in his final days.

The Rolling Stone article, “Inside Taylor Hawkins’ Final Days as a Foo Fighter,” featured parts of an interview with Cameron, the Pearl Jam drummer also known for his work in Soundgarden and who collaborated with Hawkins in Nighttime Boogie Association. It included further quotes from others said to be close to Hawkins, the musician who unexpectedly died at 50 in March, seemingly supporting what was said to be his apparent desire to cut back on Foo Fighters gigs before his death.

But in a statement on Tuesday (May 17), a day after the report emerged, Cameron suggested his words from the interview were used against him, and he apologized to the Foo Fighters camp.

“When I agreed to take part in the Rolling Stone article about Taylor, I assumed it would be a celebration of his life and work,” Cameron says on social media. “My quotes were taken out of context and shaped into a narrative I never intended. Taylor was a dear friend, and a next level artist.”

Cameron adds, “I miss him. I have only the deepest love and respect for Taylor, Dave and the Foo Fighters families. I am truly sorry to have taken part in this interview and I apologize that my participation may have caused harm to those for whom I have only the deepest respect and admiration.”

Still, in the report Monday (May 16), Cameron told Rolling Stone Hawkins confided to him he “had a heart-to-heart with Dave and, yeah, he told me that he ‘couldn’t fucking do it anymore’ — those were his words.”

Cameron continued, “It just seems like the touring schedule got even crazier after that. … He tried to keep up. He just did whatever it took to keep up, and in the end he couldn’t keep up.”

Singer Sass Jordan, who Hawkins backed early in his career, added, “I think he was just so tired. Tired of the whole game.” Another Hawkins friend, who remained anonymous for Rolling Stone, agreed. “He finally spoke to Dave and really told him that he couldn’t do this and that he wouldn’t do it anymore,” they said.

The cause of Hawkins’ death is still unknown after he was found dead in Bogota, Colombia, on March 25, before Foos were to play Festival Estereo Picnic. A preliminary toxicology report suggested he had 10 different substances in his system when he died.

Cameron is currently out from touring with Pearl Jam after testing positive for COVID. The group’s on the road in North America as part of a trek plotted for 2020 before the pandemic delayed it. It promotes Pearl Jam’s latest LP, that year’s Gigaton.