The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne Comments On Steven Drozd’s Departure

The saga of Steven Drozd’s departure from The Flaming Lips continued over social media, with frontman Wayne Coyne now commenting on the situation. Drozd, who joined Coyne as a member of The Flaming Lips in 1991, revealed his exit from the band in a since-deleted social share.

Drozd was asked on Threads about his status with the group, and his now-deleted response stated, “They’re done with me — but we’re not talking about it. So yes I’m moving on. Just keep it to yourself for now. OK?”

Consequence noted that the multi-instrumentalist has not performed with The Flaming Lips at their recent concerts. AJ Slaughter has appeared with the band in Drozd’s absence.

The Flaming Lips’ current drummer, Matthew Duckworth Kirksey, posted a response to Drozd on his Instagram account, which was also shared by The Flaming Lips’ IG account.

“NONE of this ever happens without Wayne,” Duckworth Kirksey wrote. “This idea that Steven was THE musical genius, and Wayne is just some weirdo artist… [It’s] just not true. Wayne pushes the creativity, the sound, and the show forward, like no artist I’ve ever been around.”

Coyne also took to social media to comment on the situation with Drozd. Coyne, who formed The Flaming Lips in Oklahoma City in 1983, called the reason behind Drozd’s departure “sad” and “infuriating.”

A portion of Coyne’s message follows:

“For anybody who read [Steven’s] post about the reason he is no longer in the Flaming Lips… I can say that is absolutely not true … the reason he left is sad, and infuriating … it is HIS responsibility to tell everyone what happened… what he told everyone was a lie …I was trying to give him (Steven) his own space and time to let everyone know what REALLY happened … I will post more in just a few days.”

The Flaming Lips will ring in the New Year with a December 31 concert at The Anthem in Washington D.C. Read Wayne Coyne’s full message regarding Steven Drozd’s departure from the band below.