Former Panic! bassist says he was kicked out

Former Panic! At The Disco bassist Brent Wilson, who left the rising pop-punks last month, has revealed to MTV that his amicable departure was actually anything but.

Last month the band released a statement saying that everyone will remain friends following Wilson's exit, but the bassist told MTV:

"I was kicked out of the band. It was 100 per cent a surprise to me. We were about to leave for a show in California, and they called me the night before and told me I was out of the band. The only reason they gave was that it was for 'musical purposes'.

"It was done as a phone call and the only person who spoke was (drummer) Spencer (Smith). Apparently (singer) Brendon (Urie) and Ryan were on the speakerphone too, but they didn't say a word. They never even said they were sorry."

Drummer Smith was quick to respond to Wilson's claims, telling the very same music channel:

"We made the decision based on Brent's lack of responsibility and the fact that he wasn't progressing musically with the band. Brent did not write any of his bass parts on the record. Brent did not record one note of bass on the record.

“Brendon and Ryan wrote all of the bass parts and Brendon recorded all of the bass parts. We had to simplify some of the bass parts that were recorded because Brent could not play them live.

"Our record would've sounded absolutely the same even if Brent wasn't in the band during the writing or recording process. These are all things that only a few people know, and we were fine with that. Stating these things would only make Brent look bad and we had no intention of doing that."

Wilson's response? To blame money - allegedly each band member was to make around $50,000 each from a North American tour, so one less member equals more dough for those that remain. Smith denies this, obviously.

Nice umbrella, you big girls.