Sammy Hagar is reigniting tensions with Alex Van Halen.
The drama unfolded after Hagar shared a nostalgic photo on Instagram featuring himself and Eddie Van Halen walking toward the stage in the 1990s. “Walking to the stage in the good old days. I needed to see this photo today to close out this year. Thank you, KC, for sending it,” Hagar captioned the post.
The post stirred up strong reactions from fans. One commenter declared Hagar and Eddie the ultimate musical duo, writing, “GOATS. There will never be a better duo. Not Lennon/McCartney, not Mick/Keith. You guys will be my forever favorite. I’ll fight someone for that.”
Another user brought Alex Van Halen into the conversation, stating, “No disrespect to Alex, but it’s ok to like VH with Sammy even if he doesn’t anymore.”
Hagar responded candidly, referencing his monumental achievements with the band during his tenure. “It could have been, my friend. But instead, we went on to sell over 50 million records, hit number one, and sell out every building and stadium in the world for an entire decade. That never happened again,” Hagar fired back.
He then directed his frustration at Alex Van Halen, accusing him of failing to honor his contributions to the band’s history. “Alex is not doing his brother’s musical legacy justice by ignoring all the number one albums and incredible music Eddie and I created together. Not Alex, but Eddie and I. To disregard a decade of success is an insult to Eddie’s musicianship and legacy.”
This feud between Hagar and Alex is nothing new, with both taking public shots at each other in recent years.
Alex previously criticized Hagar’s Best of All Worlds Tour, suggesting it misrepresented Van Halen. Fans were quick to defend Hagar, pointing out his significant role in the band’s success and his reputation as a gifted performer.
In a Guardian interview, Alex claimed Van Halen lost its essence when David Lee Roth exited, despite the band’s success with Hagar as the frontman. He even chose to end his memoir, Brothers, in 1985, effectively dismissing the Hagar era.
Hagar later retaliated by sharing a throwback video of Alex praising his contributions to the band. In the clip, Alex acknowledged Hagar’s ability to complement Eddie Van Halen musically, especially with vocals, guitar, and a new direction that included keyboards.
The Red Rocker also revealed that he had attempted to reach out to Alex to join his band, only to be turned down. The long-standing rift between the two shows no signs of resolution.