Reggie Watts is being removed from festival lineups and has apparently lost his longtime Comedy Bang! Bang! theme song following a wide-ranging Rolling Stone investigation into allegations involving his late ex-girlfriend Katherine Early McCollough, drug use, and his behavior in past relationships.
Watts had been scheduled to perform at two UK festivals this week, Shambala and Greenbelt, but his name has since been removed from both lineups. Greenbelt confirmed that Watts will no longer appear, while a Shambala representative acknowledged his removal in correspondence reviewed by Rolling Stone. A run of Bristol performances with frequent collaborators CAPYAC was also canceled over the weekend. Meanwhile, Watts is no longer listed on the lineup for Ireland’s Electric Picnic, where he had been scheduled to perform later this month.
The fallout has also reached Comedy Bang! Bang!. Watts’ beat-box theme had opened Scott Aukerman’s podcast for more than a decade, but it was conspicuously absent from Monday’s episode after still appearing on the August 17th installment. The show has not publicly explained the change. Watts’ connection to Comedy Bang! Bang! goes deep as he also served as bandleader and musical co-star on the IFC television adaptation beginning in 2012, remaining with the series until leaving in 2015 to join The Late Late Show with James Corden.
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The cancellations come days after Rolling Stone published an investigation based on interviews with McCollough’s sister, nine of her close friends, and five women who had dated Watts. McCollough’s loved ones allege that her drug use escalated during her relationship with Watts, a longtime advocate of ketamine and psychedelics, and believe his encouragement contributed to her addiction and declining mental health.
Several people interviewed for the story also described Watts’ approach to drugs as reckless. McCollough’s friends alleged that drugs became increasingly central to the couple’s relationship and said she sometimes expressed concern about how much she was taking. Five of Watts’ former partners separately described this experiences with him involving drug use, boundaries, and manipulative or abusive behavior.
McCollough experienced a manic episode in 2025 and was hospitalized. In notes written afterward, she expressed concern about her drug use and said her partner was “not totally supportive of me resting or abstaining from drugs,” adding that she felt “his judgment/resistance” when she chose not to partake. Watts ended their relationship later that year. McCollough died by suicide in Peru in March at age 36.
Watts declined Rolling Stone‘s multiple requests for an interview and did not address many of the allegations. However, his attorney Andrew Brettler, rejected any suggestion that he was responsible for McCollough’s death, calling the characterization “dangerously false” and a “preconceived narrative.” Brettler also disputed claims that Watts encouraged McCollough to use drugs, describing her as an “experienced” drug user who “did not need any so-called ‘encouragement’ from him.”
The investigation brought renewed attention to a video Watts had posted in the aftermath of McCollough’s death and later deleted. In the clip, Watts spoke about grief, meditation, and his continued connection to McCollough before describing the manner in which she died as “pretty, pretty elegant in many ways.” The video predates the investigation and was not recorded in response to it. McCollough’s loved ones told the publication they objected to Watts’ characterization of her death, and her sister reportedly asked him to remove a video discussing its details.
Currently, the cancellations don’t appear to extend to every date on Watts’ calendar. His website still lists upcoming US performances, including September shows in Montana and an appearance at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Whether those shows will happen as the fallout continues remains to be seen.
