Sammy Hagar has responded to Alex Van Halen calling him “a complete idiot” — and while he was happy to joke about the insult, he had more serious questions for his former bandmate.
Speaking with SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk on Thursday, September 17, Hagar argued that Alex continues to dismiss the success of Van Halen during Hagar’s time in the band. He also criticized Alex’s new book project, saying his former bandmate is doing “a lot of stuff wrong for the legacy of Van Halen.”
“Guilty as charged, first of all,” Hagar said with a laugh when Trunk asked about Alex’s comments. “I’m probably the most successful idiot on the planet.”
Alex Van Halen made the remark earlier this month when he was asked about Hagar’s 2011 autobiography, Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock, in which the singer related unflattering stories about the Van Halen brothers, including accounts of Eddie Van Halen’s alcoholism. The late guitarist is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric-guitar players of his generation.
“I don’t know what he wrote, and I don’t want to know,” Alex replied. “In my opinion, Sammy Hagar is a complete idiot.”
The drummer had already demonstrated his disregard for Hagar by avoiding any mention of his time with Van Halen in his 2024 memoir, Brothers. While promoting the book, he declared that the band’s best years came before Hagar’s arrival in 1985, when the group consisted of the Van Halen brothers, bassist Michael Anthony and original singer David Lee Roth.
“What happened after Dave left is not the same band,” Alex said while promoting Brothers in 2024. “I’m not saying it was better or worse or any of that … but the magic was in the first years, when we didn’t know what we were doing; when we were willing to try anything.”
Alex — who recently reunited with Roth for a TEDx talk — has since praised Roth as “a poet” and said, “We did our best work with Dave.”
Hagar told Trunk he takes issue with that characterization.
“I want to call Alex out and say, ‘Dude, we all know, you act like there was never a Sammy Hagar,’” he said. “You act like there was never a ‘Van Hagar.’” Hagar was referring to the nickname for the group’s years with him as its frontman. “We sold 40-some million records, four number-one albums, and you just scratch that off of your brother’s legacy, saying, ‘No, that never happened.’ You don’t even want to acknowledge it.”
“That’s deep. That’s weird. That’s not right, for Eddie, for me, for Mikey, for anybody.
“I’m asking Alex, like, why? Come clean. What’s your problem? Just come out and say it.”
We sold 40-some million records, four number-one albums, and you just scratch that off of your brother’s legacy, saying, ‘No, that never happened.’”
— Sammy Hagar
Hagar speculated that Alex is still upset about his book, and possibly Cabo Wabo, the cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, launched by the band in 1990. Hagar bought out his bandmates after the venture encountered legal and financial problems, then reversed its fortunes. He went on to sell his Cabo Wabo brand tequila for $91 million. That success reportedly became a point of contention between Hagar and the band.
“Maybe if I knew what [Alex’s] problem was, I could fix it,” Hagar continued. “But right now he just acts like there’s not a problem. It just never happened.”
Hagar also criticized Alex’s latest book project, Van Halen, which combines a photo collection with an unreleased early Van Halen demo. The limited-edition book from Genesis Publications carries a price tag of $475.
“Alex wants to just keep releasing all this old stuff and these photographs and charging people for old pictures that you could find on the internet,” Hagar said. “You should be putting them out there for free. To me, he’s doing a lot of stuff wrong for the legacy of Van Halen.”
Hagar launches his Van Halen-celebrating Best of All Worlds Tour residency in Las Vegas tonight. Trunk asked him what he would do if Alex showed up. Hagar made it clear he’d welcome the drummer with open arms — and a kiss.
“Alex? Oh, come in. Oh, 100 percent, I’ll grab him, I’ll kiss him right on the lips. … I’d treat him like the person that I used to love and I could still love.”
