Thy Art Is Murder fired vocalist CJ McMahon on September 22, and revealed they had removed his vocals from their new album Godlike.
According to a statement from Thy Art Is Murder, the firing is partially due to McMahon's recent anti-trans comments (for which he sorta apologized), which they note were only a symptom of a larger problem. McMahon revealed he found out about his firing through social media, and promised a lengthier explanation on what happened and his feelings on the matter.
McMahon has now posted a video with the following caption, revealing that he originally told the band to fire him as he had no interest in apologizing. "This is the 2nd video I made weeks ago the band never posted, the apology video you all saw I was forced to make," wrote McMahon in the caption. "I actually told the band to fire me as I didn't want to apologise as I didn't have anything to apologise for, the band said that if I left the band would be done so for the band I made the apology video you saw but this is the video I meant. I was shut down about posting this"
McMahon expanded upon his feelings in the video itself, which The PRP has so kindly transcribed. For those unaware, McMahon shared content in August framed as anti-trans commentary posted by far-right personality Matt Walsh. In Walsh's post, a woman asks her child if they're a boy or a girl, to which the kid replies "both." McMahon wrote in a caption that the woman asking the child in the video "should be burned to death," which was then reported and taken down apparently for being threatening.
"CJ here. I wanted to talk about what's going on and about what I posted, but also apologize to everybody that's been upset and offended by this because I can now see how that has come across that I've offended the trans community. But I wanted to let you know that I apologize for this. None of this was my thought of doing at all. I wasn't trying to target the trans community. My issue with the video is you have a child that six months to one year old that can verbalize a word that is 'Yeah.' And that is it.
"This woman could have said anything to this child, she could have said, 'Do you want to be an Islamic terrorist and blow up cities around the world?' The baby would have said 'Yeah.' 'Do you want to identify as a dinosaur and live as a dinosaur for the rest of your life?' And the baby would have said, 'Yeah.'
"I think the world is fucked up enough as it is, with everything going on. Nothing to do with LGBTQ family, anything like this. at whatsoever. Snd I'll always stand with everybody with whatever their belief or whatever they want to be announced as or spoken to as or identify as. But the people that I will always stick up for first and foremost before anybody, is the people that can't stand up for themselves, and that's children. I feel that there's a lot of different walks of life other than the LGBTQ+ family that indoctrinate children and force feed children information and ideals many years before the these children should be spoken to him about these things.
"I think around the world the sex ed conversation between school and children and parents and children range from about 10 or 11 or 12. And I think that's a that's a decent age to have these discussions about sex and gender and how the birds and the bees and all these sorts of things work. And I think for me, my opinion is that children should be protected from all of these things until these ages.
"And I'm sure of course there is a very, very small percentages of children that have these feelings of, of being gay or being trans before the ages of 10, 11 and 12. And I think that these kids should be protected, nurtured, loved, respected, and looked after. If they do have these views. I've fully back all of this 100%.
"The thing I don't back is these kids that the only information is the closest people around them. And then people force feeding these things that I feel are highly inappropriate for children to begin with at these young ages. I feel it's inappropriate, that is my opinion. And I stick by my opinion. I'm sure some of you if not all of you have seen videos of the LGBTQ+ family doing burlesque slash stripping shows in front of children.
"Whether it's at a daycare center or a center that's been hired out for mothers to bring their infant and extremely young children to these events. I also feel that this is highly inappropriate. Whether the woman identifies as a woman and is straight in gender and sex and that is still highly inappropriate.
"In Australia you can't go to a burlesque show, or a strip show until you're the age of consent, and the age of being able to drink alcohol, which is 18. I feel that this is the age in America would be 21 and I feel sure you're allowed to make that conscious decision for yourself. That me being a parent of two kids, I find that this behavior is completely inappropriate.
"Again, none… my posts wasn't targeted at the trans community. It was there to protect children. That's all I want to stand for. I'm probably fucking up everything I'm saying right now, but I'm really trying to defend myself and also apologize at the same time for how it's come across. I shouldn't have said 'burn her to death.' But I was infuriated. I'm sure if I wrote that about a police officer or politician or priest or something like that they wouldn't be wouldn't have had gained any traction, everyone would have backed me.
"Again, I apologize for the wording I used.
"I don't know how I've been called a rapist. I don't know how I've been called somebody that wants to kill children. I don't know how the fuck we've gotten to that point.
"But all I wanted to do is protect children at all costs from all things, including trans children. I would protect every child, black, white, trans, straight, gay, poor, rich, uneducated, educated, whatever it is. I don't care. I stand with fucking kids. And I stand to protect them at all costs. Whether they have anything to do with my life will be on the other side of the planet and I have information about it.
"The two most things I can't stand in this world are rapists and fucking pedophiles and I believe they all deserve to burn in fucking hell. I'm not calling anybody from the trans pedophiles or rapist or any of these sorts of things. I apologize to all the people that have been offended the LGBTQ+ family, the trans people. All my intentions were was to protect children and this is all gone way too far and it's affected my life, my career, my friends, my family, my business, my staff, everybody.
"I'm sure my trans friends that know me well would understand where I'm coming from and if they don't, I apologize. For that I've probably lost friends in this process.
"But yeah, I don't know much what else to say. But all my intentions were, were to protect all kids trans straight, poor, rich black, white, yellow, pink, whatever they identify us protect our kids at all costs."
Thy Art Is Murder's statement on firing McMahon is as follows.
"We have some important news regarding Godlike that we want to share with you," wrote Thy Art Is Murder. "Our new album Godlike is now available worldwide digitally with an unforeseen change – Chris McMahon is no longer a part of Thy Art Is Murder and does not feature on the record. We understand that this may come as a surprise and we want to assure you that this decision was made to preserve the band's integrity and direction.
"What transpired over the past month was not the cause of this action, but just another symptom of the drawn out breakdown in his character and judgement. The straw that broke the camels back if you will.
"Long story short, the fallout has been immense. We were lobbed with threats to destroy Thy Art Is Murder from the inside if we did not capitulate to various ideologies that he holds. Everyone has their own right to free speech and to seek their truth; they are also free to receive the consequences that come with it. We appreciate your support and respect for our privacy during this challenging time.
"As we move forward, we are excited to introduce you to a new vocalist, who finished re-recording vocals on the new album earlier this week, and will be joining us for the Godlike European tour with Whitechapel, Fit For An Autopsy and Spite, which kicks off in a few days. Our focus remains on delivering powerful music and unforgettable performances to our dedicated fans. We're grateful for your understanding and continued support as we embark on this new chapter together."
