Former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Priest has some words of support for David Ellefson, who was fired from Megadeth following allegations that he was grooming an underaged girl online. As Blabbermouth points out and transcribes, asked by Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM show “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” if he wanted to have Ellefson join KK’s Priest, the band he formed with other fellow Judas Priest members, Downing said no. “We’re all consolidated now. We’ve actually been, obviously, working pretty hard for over a year and a half now together as a unit. And, obviously, we’ve got all of these videos we’re about to release. So we’re totally consolidated.”

“But, yes, Dave and I, every now and again we’re in touch,” Downing continued, “and, obviously, I did send David a text saying, obviously, ‘You’ve got a lot of friends around the world.’ And he does. He’s not just liked — he’s actually loved. Because he’s such a gentleman. He gives time to… I prided myself in PRIEST, I really felt I was the one guy that was the very last person to hang out with the fans and just socialize and all of that. But David is exactly that person — he really is — and everybody says that about him.”

“What happened — and I talk about it with other journalists and things like that — if this had happened in the ’70s or the ’80s, it would have just been put down to rock and roll,” Downing went on. “He’s no different to anybody else. We’ve all got strengths, and we’ve all got weaknesses, especially as men, I’m afraid. And so many have kept the doors closed where David messed up and left the door ajar, but he’s no different to anybody else. So, I wish him well and everything, and I know that he will, obviously, come back, because he’s so good. And he’s an amazing bass player; there’s no two ways about it. ‘Cause when we did the gig at Steel Mill, he flew in. We had one rehearsal, in the freezing-cold rehearsal room. He just got off the plane — and Ripper as well — and we ran through the set once. Then we went out and did the show, for better or for worse.”

The Steel Mill show Downing refers to, sometimes called the “MegaPriest” show, was a 2019 set at Downing’s Wolverhampton, UK venue, where Ellefson joined Downing and members of what would become KK’s Priest for a set of Judas Priest classics.

In his most recent statement, Ellefson said he’d be pressing charges against the person who posted video of him with the person he is accused of grooming and suing them for defamation. “Recently, a very private video was illegally posted on the internet and false allegations were made against me,” he wrote. “The actions in the video were between two consenting adults and were recorded without my knowledge. I am working with Scottsdale Police Department in their investigation into charges regarding revenge pornography to be filed against the person who posted this video. Also, my lawyers are preparing a defamation lawsuit to be filed against this person. This person will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I am taking this time to be with my family. I wish my bandmates the best with their upcoming tour.”

Ellefson previously shared a post allegedly made by the person he was accused of grooming, which read, in part, “Yes, those video calls did happen, but I was the one to initiate them and never was I underage, I was always a consenting adult. Nothing inappropriate ever happened before that. It was all consensual, I’m not a victim and I have not been groomed in the slightest as I was the one to initiate it.”

He also said, “As much as it’s not something I’m proud of, these were private, adult interactions that were taken out of context and manipulated to inflict maximum damage to my reputation, my career and family.”

Meanwhile, KK’s Priest recently shared their first single, “Hellfire Thunderbolt,” off their upcoming debut album, Sermons of the Sinner.