By now, word has spread of the decades-long beef between My Chemical Romance and The Used being squashed with a one-off concert in October 2026. It’s true, The Used will perform in Los Angeles on October 30, 2026, one of two L.A. shows added to the end of MCR’s next run of tour dates.
Longtime fans took to the comment sections of the social media announcements, expressing their disbelief and excitement to see the two bands paired up again. The last time these two emo powerhouses worked together was in 2005, on a cover of Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure”.
Right after that, The Used frontman Bert McCracken revealed he’d had a “falling out” with MCR vocalist Gerard Way. Neither band spoke about it much after, with McCracken telling MTV News in 2005, “I’d prefer to say nothing more about My Chemical Romance.” Until about a month ago, that is.
McCracken appeared on an episode of Steve-O’s Wild Ride!, the podcast of Jackass icon Steve-O. In the episode, Steve-O brings up the 2004 single “Take It Away”, mentioning a lyric referencing “chemical romance.” McCracken seems to know exactly where this is going, but he offered details on what he called a “long-standing joke between us.”
“We had a really beautiful friendship,” McCracken began, with Steve-O stating that The Used essentially discovered My Chemical Romance. McCracken agreed, saying, “We took them out on their first tour in Europe, and our A&R guy was checking this band out. I was like, ‘If you don’t sign this band, you’re f***ing up. This band’s gonna blow the f*** up.’”
Bert McCracken of The Used Talks Falling Out With My Chemical Romance After Helping Put Them On The Map
“I think they were on their own trajectory a little bit,” McCracken continued, adding, “They had a super dirty punk rock record out at the time.” (Most likely the 2002 debut, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love.) After that, McCracken said, MCR released their second album, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, often considered their breakout. “Then Black Parade and they just went off the charts,” McCracken said.
“But we’ve had this long-standing joke that we’re frenemies,” he continued, joking, “It’s only coming from my side.” Adding to the discussion, Steve-O mentioned the fact that Gerard Way got sober before Bert McCracken did, noting, “When people get sober, they have to step back from the party scene.”
“And I didn’t understand that at the time,” McCracken admitted. “I was like, ‘He’s trying to tell me that I’m f***ing up.’ And I’m like ‘Dude, you’re f***ing up.’”
The seemingly one-sided beef came from the fact that Bert McCracken took Gerard Way’s much-needed sobriety as a personal affront. He admitted that he felt it was Gerard stepping away from him personally, from their friendship.
“There was a moment where I was pretty hurt about the end of our relationship,” McCracken said, when the aftermath of the falling out was brought up. After Gerard stepped away from McCracken and their friendship, McCracken gave some inflammatory interviews, “questioning [Gerard’s] artistic integrity,” said Steve-O.
McCracken didn’t deny this. But Steve-O brought up a good point that “in active addiction, that’s kind of how we control our emotions.” Lashing out, taking things personally, and blaming the other person. Things often tend to implode.
So, What Happened to End The So-Called Beef?
“We’ve talked since then, and I’ve ran into him,” said McCracken, who got sober in 2012. “Super cool, like let’s go get coffee. He’s [an] amazing human being, super talented, creative, he does it all.” The unresolved nature of the feud was then brought up, with Steve-O mentioning that there was never a public reconciliation. Fans would probably call the new concert date a pretty public beef-squashing, however.
McCracken claimed that the mystery of the feud is “kinda cool,” all things considered. He then added, “Take us out on tour, My Chem, I dare you.” Fans who listened to this podcast episode last month are probably shaking with barely contained excitement right now, guaranteed.
Overall, it sounds like Bert McCracken and Gerard Way might have reconciled privately at some point in the past decade. McCracken also admitted that he “didn’t realize” how dedicated Gerard was to sobriety and recovery until “a certain amount of time.” But, he added, “full respect.”
Photo by John Shearer/WireImage
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