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Tom DeLonge says he never quit Blink-182, is "talking to Travis about recording and touring"

Over the last few days, many outlets have been taking an excerpt from Mic’s recent interview with Tom DeLonge and running with headlines saying he quit Blink-182 to “focus on UFOs.” 

The excerpt is as follows:

We got a press release that says you decided to not tour with Blink-182 in favor of working on this. What was the decision that went into that? 

TD: Well it's not so much about Blink. It's about what I'm doing with my life now. When you're an individual like me, dealing with something that's a national security issue, and you're being gifted with the opportunity to communicate something you've been passionate about your whole life—something that has the opportunity to change the world over time—being a small part of that is enormously important for my life path. 

In response to the discussion these articles have caused, DeLonge shared a statement that calls out the media and claims he is “talking to Travis about recording and touring right now.”

He adds that he “never did quit” the band, but is currently working with people in the government. (He recently released his new book, Sekret Machines Book 1: Chasing Shadows.) 

You can read the statement in full below. Blink-182 will release their first album without DeLonge, titled California, July 1.

(Instead of writing about the section of the interview in question, AP chose to highlight DeLonge’s thoughts on Blink-182’s classic track, “Aliens Exist.”)