Josh Freese Shares 10 ‘Possible Reasons’ the Foo Fighters Dropped Him

After revealing that the Foo Fighters had dropped him for “no reason” last week, drummer Josh Freese has shared a list of possible catalysts for the band’s surprising decision.

In a lighthearted post on Instagram Monday (May 19) — three days after he first shared the news of his removal — the musician shared a graphic labeled, “Top 10 possible reasons Freese got booted from the Foos.”

The reasons listed include, “Once whistled ‘My Hero’ for a week solid on tour” (No. 10) and “Metronome-like precision behind the kit deemed ‘soulless’” (No. 7), as well as “Never once tried growing a beard” (No. 5). A proud owner of several of the curly-haired dogs, Freese also mused that the No. 1 possible reason for the shakeup was that the “whole poodle thing was getting to be a bit much.”

In his caption, Freese simply shared the hashtags, “#lol,” “#peaceoutrainbowtrout” and “#byefelicia.”

The percussionist had been the Dave Grohl-fronted band’s drummer since 2023, taking over the sticks after Taylor Hawkins died the year prior. Before that, he worked as a session musician for The Offspring, Lostprophets, the Replacements and more bands.

On Friday (May 16), he shared via a statement on Instagram, “The Foo Fighters called me Monday night to let me know they’ve decided ‘to go in a different direction with their drummer.’ No reason was given.”

“Regardless, I enjoyed the past two years with them, both on and off stage, and I support whatever they feel is best for the band,” he continued in the post. “In my 40 years of drummer of drumming professionally, I’ve never been let go from a band, so while I’m not angry, [I’m] just a bit shocked and disappointed.”

At the time of Freese’s announcement, representatives for the Foo Fighters declined Billboard’s request for comment.

See Freese’s post below.