Music News

Former Flaming Lips Drummer Accuses Band Of Racism And Abuse

The Flaming Lips racistThe Flaming Lips recently fired their longtime drummer Kliph Scurlock under mysterious circumstances, after which allegations surfaced that Scurlock was booted for criticizing Christina Fallin–daughter of Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin and good friend of Lips frontman Wayne Coyne–for posting photos of herself wearing a Native American headdress. Now, Scurlock has spoken up in a statement sent in to Pitchfork that paints a very uncomfortable image of Coyne and the band.

According to Scurlock, tension between him and Coyne started after Fallin issued a “non-apology” for her photo, which Scurlock criticized. This allegedly led to Coyne harassing him with text messages calling him a “punk coward” and telling Scurlock to “go stick up for your Indian friends if it’s so important to you.”

Among other things, Scurlock also accused Coyne of trying to censor him on his personal social media accounts, and he also claims that Coyne wanted him to start a fight with the Black Keys over a quote in a Rolling Stone interview. He further alleges that Coyne threw out a finished song recorded with Deerhoof for the band’s Heady Fwendz album because he wanted to redo the song with Kesha.

Scurlock’s full statement is available on Pitchfork‘s website. So far, no one associated with the Flaming Lips has responded to Scurlock’s allegations.

Got something to say?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

1 Comment on Former Flaming Lips Drummer Accuses Band Of Racism And Abuse

  1. […] The list of contributors was revealed by lead singer Wayne Coyne yesterday via a post on his Instagram account. Included on the list are My Morning Jacket, J Mascis, Dr. Dog, Tool lead singer Maynard James Keenan, Grace Potter, Foxygen, MGMT, Moby, Tegan & Sarah, and Miley Cyrus. That last one is probably most surprising, given that Miley Cyrus and The Flaming Lips don’t necessarily fit together on paper, but she has struck up a friendship with Coyne in recent months. (Their friendship may be one of the reasons why former Flaming Lips drummer Kliph Scurlock decided to jump ship.) […]