Alex Van Halen Calls Sammy Hagar a “Complete Idiot”

Alex Van Halen is speaking out against Sammy Hagar. The former Van Halen bandmates have been embroiled in unkind discourse for years, and Alex continued that trend in an interview with Brazilian magazine Roadie Crew.

During the chat, Ultimate Classic Rock reported that Alex compared the autobiographies Sammy and former Van Halen frontmen David Lee Roth wrote.

Alex dubbed David’s book, Crazy From the Heart, “quite entertaining,” and noted that it provides a “very interesting perspective on that era.” He was not as kind to Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock, the book Sammy penned in 2011.

“I don’t know what he wrote, and I don’t want to know,” the drummer said. “In my opinion, Sammy Hagar is a complete idiot.”

What to Know About Alex Van Halen and Sammy Hagar’s Feud

The guys’ decades-long feud is reportedly to do with Sammy’s book. In the memoir, he divulged some of Eddie Van Halen’s struggles behind-the-scenes.

More recently, in 2024, Alex spoke out against Sammy’s Best of All World Tour, which was put on in celebration of Van Halen’s post-Roth era.

“They’re not doing the band justice,” Alex told Billboard of Sammy and bassist Michael Anthony. “They can do what they want to do. That’s not my business.”

Shortly thereafter, following the release of Alex’s memoir, Brothers, Sammy expressed his displeasure at the text, which did not include any mention of the years he fronted the band.

“Alex is not doing his brother’s musical legacy justice by not acknowledging all the No. 1 albums and some great music Eddie and I wrote together – not Alex – but Eddie and I wrote together,” Sammy wrote in an Instagram comment, per UCR. “To not acknowledge 10 years of music is blasphemy to his brother’s musicianship, songwriting and legacy.”

The following year, Sammy once again spoke out about the feud.

“Al, you’re fine. Just leave me alone. I’ll leave you alone,” Sammy told Rolling Stone. “Everything’s good. I’m making you money, by the way, Al. I’m out there selling Van Halen records and keeping the name alive, keeping the music alive.”

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