Zak Starkey Clarifies He Wasn’t Fired From The Who — He Was ‘Retired’

Zak Starkey is shutting down the “noise and confusion.”

A month after announcing that he was parting ways with The Who after 29 years, only for Pete Townshend to say that he was not leaving the band days later, Starkey is giving insight into what really happened.

“NOISE&CONFUSION!!!! I had a great phone chat with Roger [Daltrey] at the end of last week which truly confused both of us!!!” began Starkey, the son of The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and his first wife Maureen Starkey, in a Monday, May 26 Instagram statement.

“Rog said I hadn’t been ‘fired’…I had been ‘retired’ to work n my own projects. I explained to Rog that I have just spent nearly 8 weeks at my studio in Jamaica completing these projects, that my group Mantra Of The Cosmos was releasing one single at the beginning of June and after that had run its course ( usually 5/6 weeks ),” his statement continued.

“I was completely available for the foreseeable future….Rog said ‘Oh!’ and we kind of left it there- On good terms and great friends as we have always been,” said Starkey. “Gotta love these guys. As my mum used to say ‘The mind boggles!!!’ XXX.’

Starkey posted his statement next to a photo with text: “Drummers: From Keith Moon to Zak Starkey and Beyonce.” It was an edited version of a Rolling Stone headline that read, “All of the Who’s Drummers: From Keith Moon to Zak Starkey and Beyond.”

Fans noted in the comment section that they were happy to get an update, even if they were still confused about what happened.

“Very confusing. As long as you’re ok, that’s all that matters. We got you,” one comment read. Another person wrote, “I’m so glad to know that you are still on good terms with Roger and Pete after this confusing mess.”

The confusion began after Starkey confirmed to PEOPLE in a statement on Wednesday, April 16, that he had parted ways with The Who, and said he was going to focus on his family, autobiography, and own music.

He also referenced the blood clot on his right knee that he suffered in January, noting that it was not affecting his drumming.

His statement came weeks after a Metro report was published, alleging that Daltrey had repeatedly said he was struggling to hear over the drums during The Who’s Royal Albert Hall show in March.

Townshend would go on to address Starkey’s statement in an Instagram post on Saturday, April 19, expressing that there had “been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily.”

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He further added, “Roger and I would like Zak to tighten up his latest evolved drumming style to accommodate our non-orchestral line up and he has readily agreed. I take responsibility for some of the confusion.”