Bret Michaels Calls VMAs Fistfight With C.C. DeVille the ‘Craziest Moment’ of Their Careers

Bret Michaels‘ 1991 MTV VMAs took a wild turn. In Paramount+’s Nöthin’ But a Good Time: The Uncensored Story of ’80s Hair Metal, Michaels recalled the onstage mishap and backstage fistfight with his Poison bandmate, guitarist C.C. DeVille.

“There was a lot of partying going on and C.C. had a really great time, so he’s lit,” Michaels said in the docuseries, according to People. “It was the craziest moment in our career.”

The band soon took the stage to perform “Unskinny Bop,” but it was the opening notes of “Talk Dirty to Me” that started playing instead.

“I’m like, ‘Holy f**k,’” Michaels said.

Things got worse when DeVille accidentally unplugged a guitar cable midway through the performance.

Though the band finished their time onstage, things took a turn when they went into the wings.

“It was an instant knock down, drag out fistfight,” Michaels said. “Here we are fighting, rolling on the ground, underneath Cindy Crawford and Arsenio Hall who are trying to move out of our way because they have to go out and introduce the next band.”

The scuffle left the bandmates with “a couple of broken noses and loss of a tooth or two.” It also led the band to part with DeVille for five years, before they reconciled and came back together.

Bret Michaels Has Said Poison May Be Heading Out on Tour in 2026

Earlier this month, Michaels revealed that he’d like to reunite the band—DeVille, bassist Bobby Dall, and drummer Rikki Rockett—for a tour in 2026.

“It will be Poison’s 40th anniversary since the release of Look What The Cat Dragged In in 1986…so it would make perfect sense to have the possibility of a reunion in 2026,” Michaels wrote on Facebook. “In my opinion, it would be the perfect 40th Anniversary Tour, with 40 awesome limited dates to go out, play real live hit songs, and rock the world.”

“Although none of this is confirmed and it takes much coordination & planning to have a successful tour…good things happen in 4’s for Poison,” he added. “4 original band members, 40th anniversary, 40 limited dates, Parti-Gras 4.0 and May The 4’s be with you!”

Featured Image by Larry Marano/Shutterstock