Dave Grohl Has ‘Too Much Control’ and ‘Too Little’ Support After Firing Foo Fighters Drummer: Source

Dave Grohl has his band walking on eggshells since drummer Josh Freese got the axe earlier this year, according to an insider.

“Dave continues to be his own worst enemy when it comes to plotting the future of the Foo Fighters and even when it comes to managing his own already tarnished image,” the insider exclusively dishes to the Globe.

“All the drama is totally because of Dave’s personality,” adds the insider. “For people who know Dave well, this traces back to the unexpected and untimely 2022 death of the band’s long-serving drummer Taylor Hawkins.”

Hawkins was found dead in his hotel room in Colombia at 50 years old. It was later reported that he had opioids, benzodiazepines and antidepressants in his system at the time of his death.

Describing Hawkins as a “protégé, a little brother, a trusted advisor and a key collaborator” to Grohl — both when they were on tour and when they were recording new albums — the insider says that the rocker “still hasn’t fully recovered from that loss.”

“He’s always maintained an iron-clad grip on everything about the band, but having Taylor back up every one of his decisions was a key aspect of his leadership,” continues the insider, “and that support is now gone forever.”

Firing Freese, 52, is just a “symptom” of the main issue – that Grohl, 56, has “too much control” and “too little internal support” when it comes to the band, the insider notes. This has led to the other members of the Foo Fighters feeling “little more than hired hands” despite being a part of a “world famous rock band.”

Grohl “needs to realize that the only way to keep the Foo Fighters going strong into their fourth decade is to lighten up, loosen up and let in new voices and ideas,” the insider explains.

“Yes, Dave is a musical genius and a brilliant songwriter,” the insider clarifies, “but he’s having a little trouble seeing the forest for the trees right now, and his fans are starting to catch on!”

Freese opened up about his shocking firing in May, revealing that he was simply told the band decided to “go in a different direction with their drummer” with no further reason given.

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

The Foo Fighters band shake-up comes less than one year after Grohl admitted to fathering a child with another woman while married to wife Jordyn Blum.

It’s since been revealed that the mother of his youngest daughter is a 38-year-old fan named Jennifer Young, who lives in L.A. Meanwhile, Grohl and Blum, 49 – who have daughters Violet, 18, Harper, 15, and Ophelia, 10, together – continue to try to heal their relationship, but it’s been a rocky road.

“The consequences of his actions are still staring them both in the eye,” a source told the National Enquirer in April.