The Ghost Inside Parts Ways with Bassist Over Past Racist Remarks

Jim Riley is no longer working with The Ghost Inside.

The band announced on Saturday (June 6) that they have parted ways with the bassist after his past racial remarks resurfaced.

The Ghost Inside recently released a shirt that says “What Do You Stand For?” with proceeds benefiting the NAACP. Bracewar drummer Rashod Jackson then called out the band, bringing up that Jim called a bus driver the n-word back in 2015.

“This is cute. @theghostinside y’all gonna act like your b—h ass bass player didn’t call y’alls bus driver a n—-r that time? I ain’t forget that s–t,” Rashod tweeted.

Shortly later, The Ghost Inside shared a statement announcing that they have parted ways with Jim.

“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,” the band wrote. “Racism and bigotry of any kind stifle that journey towards the light. It closes and locks doors that need to be broken open.”

We have decided to part ways with bassist Jim Riley,” they continued. “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 but 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.”