Stranger things have happened!
On Wednesday, the Foo Fighters announced that their guitarist Pat Smear has to sit out a few of the group’s upcoming performances due to a freak accident.
“BREAKING NEWS! In the classic tradition of rockstars having bizarre gardening accidents, Pat Smear has apparently rung in the new year by smashing the s–t out of his left foot,” the Instagram caption read. “This means he’ll unfortunately be missing a few shows while the multiple broken bones in his foot heal.”
The post cheekily plays on the 1984 mockumentary “This Is Spinal Tap,” where the band’s drummer John “Stumpy” Pepys was said to have passed away in an unsolved, bizarre gardening incident.
“We’ll miss our beloved Pat as much as you will, but we want him fully healed and back on his feet as soon as possible,” the group, which includes Dave Grohl, Rami Jaffee, Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel and Ilan Rubin, added.
“Beck and St. Vincent guitar wizard Jason Falkner will be filling in for Pat while he’s on the mend,” concluded the post.
Along with the message to fans, the Foo Fighters included a hilarious mocked up magazine cover with Smear giving the middle finger as he’s taken out of his garden on a stretcher. The fake headline read, “Foo Fighters Breaking News. Pat Smear Bizarre Gardening Accident!”
“Details in caption,” the magazine added beneath a picture of an X-Ray.
Other captions on the magazine read “Aliens spotted warming up for spring training!” and “2026 fried chicken & champagne diet tips.”
Fans quickly jumped into the comments section to wish Smear well.
“Take care of you , feel better! C u soon,” one follower said, while a second chimed in, “BREAKing news 👀😬 Ouch! Wishing you a speedy recovery Pat! 💖🥂🍾.”
“Aw, Pat Easy, speedy and full recovery to you. We’ll miss you next week,” a third noted.
Another fan teased back, “Okay, the Pat news is unfortunate, but can you PLEASE SHARE the fried chicken and champagne diet tips?!”
The Foo Fighters are scheduled to play their first gig of the year on Jan. 10 in Guanajuato, Mexico.
On January 14, the band will head to Los Angeles for a benefit concert on Grohl’s 57th birthday, and later perform in Australia on Jan. 24.
This isn’t the first time one of the Foo Fighters garnered an injury. In 2015, Grohl fell from the stage and broke his leg.
He then performed sitting down on a light-up throne. The seat was handed off to Axl Rose to use on his Guns N’ Roses tour before Matthew Ramsey, Old Dominion’s frontman, used it in 2019 after his own leg surgery.
“So Axl took it out with Guns N’ Roses, then he took it out with AC/DC, and then all of a sudden I became the guy you come to if you break a limb on tour, like Thrones R Us,” Grohl told Classic Rock magazine in 2021.
Along with serving as the throne keeper, the frontman made headlines in 2024 after announcing that he cheated on his wife, Jordyn Blum, and welcomed a child out of wedlock.
Grohl revealed his infidelity in a social media post that September, writing, “I’ve recently become the father of a new baby daughter, born outside of my marriage.”
“I plan to be a loving and supportive parent to her. I love my wife and my children, and I am doing everything I can to regain their trust and earn their forgiveness,” he continued.
Grohl concluded with a plea to the public: “We’re grateful for your consideration toward all the children involved, as we move forward together.”
Shortly after, The Post confirmed the mother of his fourth child is Jennifer Young.
Grohl tied the knot with Blum, 49, a former model and MTV producer, at their Los Angeles home on August 2, 2003.
The couple share three daughters, Violet, 19, Harper, 16, and Ophelia, 11.
The “Learn To Fly” singer was previously married to photographer Jennifer Youngblood from 1994 to 1997.
A year later, a source told People that the couple is now “very happy.”
“She’s forgiven him,” the insider shared in Sept. 2025. “They never wanted a divorce though — the idea of splitting up their family was too sad for both of them. They love their girls and they’re both great parents.”
They shared that Blum “was initially distraught, but the betrayal was painful for both of them.”
Grohl “felt terrible and begged her to forgive him,” adding that Blum is “surrounded by friends who believe in marriage and encouraged her to fight for it.”
“They’re very happy now,” the source concluded. “She feels it was all worth fighting for.”
