Slipknot have confirmed Sid Wilson’s departure with a blunt Instagram statement.
The masked Iowa metal band posted the message on Friday, Aug. 14, announcing that Wilson, 49, would exit after 28 years as their DJ and keyboardist. The post, which featured white text on a black background, has since been deleted from the band’s main account but remains visible on the official Knotfest festival page.
“Effective immediately, Slipknot will no longer be associated with Sid Wilson,” the statement read. “We wish him the best in his future endeavors, Slipknot.”
The caption added: “Slipknot have parted ways with Sid Wilson. The announcement could briefly be found on the band’s website.”
No reason was given for the split.
The confirmation followed weeks of speculation that intensified when reports said on July 31 that Wilson had been “permanently” removed. Sources with direct knowledge told the outlet that bandmates had grown fed up with Wilson’s behavior and alleged mistreatment of fellow members, describing the firing as “a long time coming.”
Slipknot guitarist Jim Root, 54, initially urged caution about the reports. Posting to his Instagram Stories on July 31 alongside the band’s 2008 track “‘Til We Die,” he wrote: “Don’t believe everything you read. Stop. Think. Take a breath. Sit with it for awhile. Maybe. Just maybe even wait until there’s more information.”
Wilson himself stayed silent when confronted by TMZ outside a Los Angeles recording studio on Aug. 2, keeping his head down and ignoring questions about his status.
The firing came months after Wilson’s personal life unraveled publicly. He and Kelly Osbourne, 41, quietly ended their engagement in March 2026, just seven months after he proposed backstage at her father Ozzy Osbourne’s final Black Sabbath concert in Birmingham, UK.
Osbourne appeared to address Wilson directly in a series of scathing Instagram Stories posted Aug. 3. “Strange how the loudest defense of the guilty is rarely innocence… It’s distraction,” she wrote. “When the mask slips, they don’t face the mirror they throw it at someone else. I also heard that when you break a mirror you get 7 years of bad luck! Or is that just karma? This is why I always take accountability!”
She continued: “Wake the f–k up take some responsibility I will not take your s–t anymore! I’m done.”
Osbourne also demanded the return of her belongings. “Also while I’m at it can I have my dogs back and all my possessions. Oh yeah and maybe some child support?”
The posts followed earlier messages in which Osbourne had written: “I want to be happy and I have a beautiful son to raise. Leave me alone. Let me heal. I can’t protect you from yourself anymore.”
She shared additional quote posts about motherhood, including one stating: “My son’s little heart once beat right next to mine. So trust me when I say I will protect it at all costs.”
In the viral moment that preceded the band’s official statement, TMZ’s July 31 report caught Slipknot off guard. Sources told the outlet that the group had planned to announce Wilson’s departure on their own terms but “freaked out behind the scenes” when the news leaked early. Wilson was reportedly notified late that Friday afternoon that he was out. The timing compounded an already turbulent year for the turntablist, who had broken off his engagement to Osbourne following the death of Ozzy Osbourne in July 2025 and was now losing the band he had helped build from their 1999 self-titled debut through their Grammy win for “Before I Forget” in 2006.
Wilson joined Slipknot in 1998 as their ninth member, taking the designation #0 because he felt the number represented “absolute filth and a clean slate.” His chaotic stage presence—marked by erratic dancing, stage dives that once left him with two broken heels in 2008, and abrasive electronic textures—became central to the band’s live identity across seven studio albums.
Slipknot have not announced replacement plans or upcoming tour dates affected by the lineup change.