The long-running Van Halen feud has cranked itself back up to stadium volume after Alex Van Halen took a brutal swipe at former frontman Sammy Hagar — prompting the Red Rocker to call for peace while landing a cheeky shot of his own.
Just when you thought the Van Halen camp might finally put down the verbal boxing gloves, somebody has wandered back into the ring and rung the bell.
Drummer Alex Van Halen has reignited his decades-old feud with former Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar, dismissing the Red Rocker as a “complete idiot” during a recent interview.
Hagar has now responded — and while he stopped short of launching a full-scale counterattack, there was still enough bite in his reply to keep this particular rock ’n’ roll soap opera rumbling.
Good grief, mun. Pass the popcorn and turn the Marshall stack down for five minutes.
Alex Van Halen Takes Aim
The latest blast arrived during an interview with Brazilian journalist Marcelo Vieira, who translated Alex Van Halen’s autobiography Brothers into Portuguese.
Alex was asked for his opinion on books written by Van Halen’s two most famous frontmen: David Lee Roth’s Crazy from the Heat and Sammy Hagar’s Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock.
The drummer spoke positively about Roth’s memoir, describing it as an entertaining reflection of Diamond Dave’s unusual personality and sense of humour.
His assessment of Hagar’s book was considerably less diplomatic.
“I don’t know what he wrote, and I don’t want to know,” Alex said, before adding: “Sammy Hagar is a complete idiot.”
Blunt, brutal and about as subtle as Eddie Van Halen’s amplifier landing on your garden shed.
Sammy Hagar Responds
News of Alex’s remark quickly travelled across social media and eventually reached Hagar.
Commenting beneath an Instagram post reporting the insult, Sammy described the renewed hostility as unnecessary at this point in their lives. He also suggested that “the truth hurts sometimes” before finishing with a simple plea:
“Peace already.”
It’s hardly an announcement that the pair will be sharing a cwtch and a pint anytime soon, but Hagar’s response makes his position fairly clear.
He appears tired of the feud — although he couldn’t resist slipping a small verbal elbow into the ribs on the way out.
Rock stars, eh? They can sell millions of albums, fill arenas across the planet and still argue like two blokes disputing who moved the wheelie bin.
Where Did the Feud Begin?
The tension between Hagar and Alex stretches back years, but the publication of Sammy’s autobiography in 2011 became a major point of conflict.
In Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock, Hagar wrote openly about his time in Van Halen and Eddie Van Halen’s struggles with alcohol and addiction.
The book offered an unflinching account of life inside one of rock’s biggest bands. However, Alex was reportedly furious about the way his younger brother was portrayed.
Eddie died in October 2020 following a battle with cancer, making the continuing disputes around his life and legacy even more emotionally charged.
Hagar later revealed that he and Eddie had privately repaired their relationship before the guitarist’s death. Unfortunately, his relationship with Alex remained broken.
The Van Hagar Years Still Matter
Sammy Hagar joined Van Halen in 1985 following David Lee Roth’s departure.
Replacing one of rock’s most recognisable frontmen should have been an impossible task, but the Hagar-fronted version of Van Halen became enormously successful in its own right.
The band released four consecutive American number-one studio albums during that period:
- 5150 — 1986
- OU812 — 1988
- For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge — 1991
- Balance — 1995
Songs including “Why Can’t This Be Love”, “Dreams”, “When It’s Love”, “Poundcake” and “Right Now” helped define a new era of the band.
The sound changed, the dynamic shifted and fans have argued about “Roth versus Hagar” ever since — usually in pubs, online forums or festival campsites at two in the morning when absolutely nobody is changing anybody else’s mind.
Both eras mattered.
Both produced massive songs.
And yes, you’re allowed to enjoy both without handing in your battle jacket at reception.
Hagar Was Unhappy With Brothers
The feud received another fresh injection of nitroglycerine following the release of Alex Van Halen’s 2024 memoir, Brothers.
The book focused heavily on Alex’s relationship with Eddie and the band’s formative years, but Hagar’s decade with Van Halen was largely absent.
Sammy later criticised that omission, arguing that ignoring the hugely successful Van Hagar period failed to give a complete account of Eddie’s musical achievements.
For Hagar, those four number-one records and the songs he wrote with Eddie represent an essential part of the guitarist’s legacy.
For Alex, Brothers was a deeply personal tribute to his sibling rather than a complete chronological history of every Van Halen era.
That difference in perspective appears to sit right at the centre of the continuing animosity.
An Olive Branch That Never Landed
In 2024, Hagar spoke publicly about wanting to make peace with Alex.
He said reconciliation remained on his personal bucket list and claimed he had extended the olive branch several times.
Nothing came of it.
By early 2026, Hagar’s tone had hardened. He compared his relationship with Alex to the notoriously frosty divide between Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour and Roger Waters, suggesting he no longer expected the two former bandmates to work together again.
Alex’s latest insult certainly doesn’t sound like the beginning of a heart-warming reunion special.
If this olive branch has survived, it must look like something left behind after Download Festival closes on Monday morning.
Could They Ever Make Peace?
Van Halen fans would undoubtedly love to see the surviving members find some peace, even if a musical reunion is impossible.
Nobody expects every disagreement to disappear. Too much history, hurt and grief sits beneath the surface for a simple handshake to fix everything.
But these musicians created records that still mean the world to millions of people. Watching the remaining members trade insults can feel like seeing the walls of that legacy slowly chipped away.
Hagar’s response suggests he would prefer to end the public hostility.
Whether Alex feels the same is another matter entirely.
The Riff Report Verdict
Alex Van Halen’s remark was savage, while Sammy Hagar’s response attempted to close the argument without completely surrendering the final word.
It was peace with a pinch of chilli.
The Van Halen story has always contained towering talent, enormous personalities and enough internal drama to power an entire streaming service. Sadly, the passing years haven’t cooled every disagreement.
From our Welsh corner of the rock world, we’d love to see both men leave the feud behind and allow the music to do the talking.
Life is short. Eddie’s legacy is enormous. The albums are still brilliant.
Turn up “Dreams”, pour something cold and call a truce, boys. Peace already, mun. 🤘🔥
