THE GHOST INSIDE have announced that they will be parting ways with bassist Jim Riley after he was was accused of making racist slurs.
Band said in a statement: “THE GHOST INSIDE was born from a scene of forward thinking, understanding and progressiveness. Our music and message has always been one of hope and finding that light at the end of the tunnel. Racism and bigotry of any kind stifle that journey the light. It closes and locks doors that need to be broken open.
“We have decided to part ways with bassist Jim Riley. While we didn’t hear these words spoken directly from his mouth, we did hear mutterings of the incident. At the time we thought this to be just a rumor, but it offended and hurt a community. A community we are meant to bring together.
“We should’ve spoken up back then and we didn’t, we should’ve dug deeper. We acknowledge that we were silent. We are self educating and growing and learning as individuals. We are here to say that we as a band fully condemn racism and support the black community in the fight against systemic racism.”
Two days ago, after THE GHOST INSIDE launched a new line of merch to benefit NAACP, Riley was accused by BRACEWAR drummer Rashod Jackson of using a racial slur to refer to the band’s driver at the time.
Jim wrote in a statement: “Rashod called me out in 2015. I called him, he put the screws to me. I deserved it, and I apologized to him. He told me that wasn’t good enough and he was right. Its shameful and f*cking embarrassing. I present myself as someone who gives a sh*t about progressive movements and ideas, and I was not living up to that.
“Because of that conversation I had to take a big f*cking look in the mirror and recognize a lot of bullsh*t that I was selling myself. I made too many excuses for being brought up without exposure to the black experience, and I should have been better. I make a conscious effort to purge stuff about myself that still sucks when I find it, and to be mindful that I’m just a passenger on someone else’s ship in any movement related to black lives.
“I’m sorry. I know that’s not enough. I’m going to keep doing the work. That might still not be enough. I’m going to do it anyway.”
