Pearl Jam Drummer Claims His Taylor Hawkins Death 'Quotes Were Taken Out Of Context'

In an article dubbed "Inside Taylor Hawkins' Final Days as a Foo Fighter," Rolling Stone interviewed 20 of Hawkins' friends, including Cameron. Some of the article focused on Hawkins' mental struggles and plans to take a step back from the band.

“He had a heart-to-heart with Dave and, yeah, he told me that he ‘couldn’t f****** do it anymore’ — those were his words,” Cameron told Rolling Stone. “So I guess they did come to some understanding, but it just seems like the touring schedule got even crazier after that.”

Hawkins' family and Foo Fighters band members declined to interview for the story, according to the New York Post. Now, Cameron is regretting participation because of the frame of the story.

“When I agreed to take part in the Rolling Stone article about Taylor, I assumed it would be a celebration of his life and work,” he wrote on Instagram. “My quotes were taken out of context and shaped into a narrative I never intended. Taylor was a dear friend, and a next level artist.

“I miss him,” the fellow musician added about Hawkins, who died March 25 at age 50. “I have only the deepest love and respect for Taylor, Dave and the Foo Fighters families. I am truly sorry to have taken part in this interview and I apologize that my participation may have caused harm to those for whom I have only the deepest respect and admiration.”

The New York Post reached out to Rolling Stone for comment. A rep for Foo Fighters had told the magazine that the band "disputes Hawkins' friends' characterizations of how he was feeling."

The Attorney General of Colombia, where Hawkins died, stated that a preliminary toxicology test showed he had several substances in his body, including opioids, benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants, and THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana.