Sammy Hagar has challenged his former bandmate Alex Van Halen to explain the real reason behind their ongoing rift, addressing the situation during an appearance on Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk.
The discussion arose after Alex Van Halen previously called Hagar a “complete idiot” when asked about Hagar’s 2011 memoir, Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock. Hagar responded to the comment and questioned why Alex seems to ignore the “Van Hagar” era of the band.
“Guilty as charged, first of all,” Sammy Hagar said. “I’m probably the most successful idiot on the planet.”
Hagar then addressed Alex directly, questioning why he appears to disregard the significant success they achieved together in Van Halen.
“I want to call Alex out and say dude, we all know, you act like there was never a Sammy Hagar,” Hagar continued. “You act like there was never a ‘Van Hagar.’ We sold 40 some million records, [had] four No. 1 albums and you just scratch that off of your brother’s legacy, saying no, that never happened.”
He expressed that ignoring this era of the band’s history is unfair to everyone involved.
“You don’t even want to acknowledge it,” Hagar added. “That’s deep. That’s weird. That’s not right, for Eddie, for me, for Mikey, for anybody.”
Hagar concluded by urging Alex to be upfront about whatever issue he has.
“I’m asking Alex, like why?” Hagar said. “Come clean, what’s your problem? Just come out and say it. Is it the book? Say it. Cabo Wabo? Say it. Maybe if I knew what your problem was, I could fix it. But right now he just acts like there’s not a problem, it just never happened.”
This exchange follows previous comments from Alex Van Halen regarding Hagar’s 2011 book.
“I don’t know what he wrote, and I don’t want to know,” Alex Van Halen previously stated. “In my opinion, Sammy Hagar is a complete idiot.”
The dispute is connected to a significant period in Van Halen’s history, when Hagar became the band’s lead singer after David Lee Roth’s departure.
Hagar joined Van Halen in 1985 and remained with the band until 1996. He later returned for another run from 2003 to 2005.
The period became widely known as the “Van Hagar” era. During Hagar’s initial tenure, the band released four studio albums: 5150, OU812, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, and Balance.
Eddie Van Halen ultimately found in Hagar a frontman capable of replacing Roth while bringing his own established identity and experience to the group.
The lineup also achieved major commercial success. The four albums released during that era became multi-platinum records, reinforcing Hagar’s argument that his time in the band was an important part of its history.
Hagar’s memoir, Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock, revisited his career and his years with Van Halen. Those recollections became part of the tension between Hagar and the Van Halen camp, adding further weight to the disagreement now being discussed publicly.
