Sammy Hagar responds after Alex Van Halen calls him a 'complete idiot'
Ouch
Last updated 7th Sep 2026
Sammy Hagar has issued a short response to Alex Van Halen after the Van Halen drummer labelled him a “complete idiot.”
During a recent interview with Brazilian journalist Marcelo Vieira, who translated Alex Van Halen's Brothers autobiography into Portuguese, Alex was asked for his thoughts on memoirs by other Van Halen band mates, including David Lee Roth's Crazy from the Heat and Sammy Hagar's Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock.
Complimenting Diamond Dave’s 1997 memoir, Alex said: "It's quite fun and accurately reflects (David's) sense of humour. Although the text is somewhat abstract and loses its train of thought at times, it's still a very interesting perspective on that era."
However, he was less than complimentary about The Red Rocker’s 2011 book, adding: "I don't know what he wrote, and I don't want to know. In my opinion, Sammy Hagar is a complete idiot."
Writing on Instagram, Sammy Hagar responded over the weekend: "This comment and post is so unnecessary at this time in our lives, but I guess the truth hurts sometimes. Peace already".
Alex Van Halen and Sammy Hagar fell out after the release of Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock, with Alex reportedly furious over Sammy’s depiction of Eddie’s heavy drinking.
In 2024, Sammy said he hoped to make friends with Alex again, saying: "It's on my bucket list that I will not take this to my grave, and I don’t want Al taking it to his grave. I've put the olive branch out there many times.”
However, the following year, Sammy expressed his dissatisfaction that his years with Van Halen weren’t covered in Alex’s Brothers book.
"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 said.
"To not acknowledge 10 years of music is blasphemy to his brother’s musicianship, songwriting and legacy.”