Sammy Hagar released an old interview with Alex Van Halen on Instagram to prove that he wasn’t honest about their years together.
“Sammy complements Ed not only vocally but also on the guitar,” Alex says in the video. “Musically I think the band is really expanded because Sammy plays guitar. It allows Ed to further pursue his interest in the keyboard and whatever other musical directions he goes into.”
The video was shared by the Van Halen Archive account named ‘Van Hagar/Other Half.’ Fans in the comment section thought it was an answer to Alex’s recent statements on Hagar.
The drummer claimed that Van Halen lost its soul after Sammy came as the new singer following David Lee Roth’s departure. Alex also said that’s why he didn’t mention the Van Hagar years in his new book, ‘Brothers.’
‘Brothers’ doesn’t cover Hagar’s time in Van Halen from 1985 to 1996 or the three years they worked with Gary Cherone from Extreme. Alex recently mentioned this to Billboard, “What happened after Dave left is not the same band. I’m not saying it was better or worse of 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.”
Then, Hagar talked about Alex ignoring him in the Van Halen legacy. The Red Rocker recently shared some photos from Rock Hall rehearsals and wrote, “Cool x Kool & the Gang at Rock Hall rehearsals. (Scroll) Gettin’ ready to celebrate and induct some old friends and legends tonight.”
“Alex Van Halen doesn’t mention you once in his book,” a fan noted in the comment section. “So strange?” Hagar responded to the fan.
In the same interview with Billboard, the drummer explained why he said no to joining his old bandmates on The Best of All Worlds tour this year. He shared, “I’m not interested. They’re not doing the band justice. They can do what they want to do. That’s not my business.”
After Alex’s comments, Van Halen fans reacted strongly to the drummer. Some users on X criticized Alex, suggesting he should have participated more. Others expressed that they dislike him more with each comment he makes. They pointed out that Sammy Hagar brought in money and had talent.