My Chemical Romance Drummer Speaks Out Following Firing

Fired My Chemical Romance drummer Michael Pedicone, who was kicked out of the group for stealing, admits to a "tremendous mistake" and says his behavior was a misguided attempt at revenge against another member of MCR's entourage.

"Almost as soon as I began touring with MCR I ran into problems with a member of the band's crew who I'll not name," Pedicone tells Kerrang! in a statement. "The problems were many, big and small, but some of them were large enough that they began to greatly impact me and, by extension, my family. I'd reached my wits' end, and I made what was certainly the poorest decision of my life.

"Rather than address the issues that I had with the crew member in an open and honest manner, I tried to make them look irresponsible. My intention was to make this person look incompetent. I had no intention of profiting whatsoever. Again, I cannot overstate how poor my judgment was in this situation; it was a tremendous mistake, and it's one I'll regret for years to come."

Pedicone says he was not given a chance to defend himself: "I would have liked an opportunity to share my side of the story with MCR, an opportunity to express my remorse. I was never given one."

MCR has already found a replacement for Pedicone -- former Suicide File drummer Jarrod Alexander. The band is in the middle of a run on the Honda Civic Tour with Blink-182 and Matt and Kim.