WHAT THEY SAID
"In my opinion, Sammy Hagar is a complete idiot." * That's Alex Van Halen to Brazilian magazine Roadie Crew (issue 293), answering a question about Hagar's 2011 memoir *Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock* — a book he admits he hasn't read and doesn't want to *†. Hagar answered on September 5, 2026 in the comments of a Rock Celebrities Instagram post, calling the shot unnecessary at this stage of their lives and signing off asking for peace *‡.
THE DETAILS
- Alex, 73, praised Roth's 1997 *Crazy From The Heat* in the same interview as fun and true to Roth's humor *†§.
- Hagar cut four Van Halen albums — *5150*, *OU812*, *For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge*, *Balance* — all No. 1 in the U.S. *†.
- Alex's memoir *Brothers* stops in 1984 and skips the Hagar era entirely; Hagar called that omission blasphemy toward Eddie's songwriting ‡§.
- Alex told Billboard in 2024 that the Hagar/Michael Anthony "Best Of All Worlds" shows weren't doing the band justice, and declined an invite *¶.
- Hagar apologized in 2021 for airing Eddie's dark side, while standing by the accuracy *†.
- Alex was knighted in the Order of the Netherlands Lion on September 1, 2026 in Nijmegen ¶.
WHO IS RIGHT
Hagar. He apologized for the Eddie material, invited Alex onto the tour, and got silence — while Alex insults a book he openly refuses to read *‡.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Alex has reportedly not spoken to Hagar in 25 years, so nothing suggests this gets resolved *.