Sammy Hagar Fires Back at Alex Van Halen Over ‘Complete Idiot’ Jab

Sammy Hagar spoke at length on SiriusXM about Alex Van Halen labeling him a “complete idiot,” using the September 17, 2026 interview with host Eddie Trunk to laugh off the insult while pressing his former drummer to explain why he keeps downplaying the years Hagar spent fronting Van Halen. The exchange follows a Roadie Crew magazine interview published in early September 2026 in which Alex made the remark, and a shorter Instagram reply Hagar posted on September 5.

• Alex Van Halen made the “complete idiot” comment to Brazil’s Roadie Crew magazine, in an interview conducted by Marcelo Vieira, the translator of Alex’s memoir Brothers for its Brazilian edition.
• Sammy Hagar first reacted on September 5, 2026, commenting on an Instagram post from Rock Celebrities.
• Hagar’s longer response came September 17, 2026, during his SiriusXM conversation with Eddie Trunk.
• Alex’s new photo book, titled Van Halen, comes from Genesis Publications, pairs archival photos with a previously unreleased early Van Halen demo, and is priced at $475.

Why Did Alex Van Halen Call Sammy Hagar a ‘Complete Idiot’?

Alex made the remark when Roadie Crew asked him about Hagar’s 2011 autobiography, Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock. “I don’t know what he wrote, and I don’t want to know,” Alex said. “In my opinion, Sammy Hagar is a complete idiot.” In the same conversation, Alex offered a far warmer take on David Lee Roth’s 1997 book Crazy From the Heat, calling it “quite entertaining” and saying it “faithfully reflects [Roth’s] sense of humor.”

How Did Sammy Hagar Respond?

Hagar’s first reaction came days after the Roadie Crew comments surfaced, when he wrote on Instagram: “This comment and post is so unnecessary at this time in our lives, but I guess the truth hurts sometimes. Peace already.”

Speaking with Eddie Trunk nearly two weeks later, Hagar took the insult in stride at first. “Guilty as charged, first of all,” he said, laughing. “I’m probably the most successful idiot on the planet.”

He then turned more pointed, accusing Alex of erasing the commercial record of the band’s Hagar-fronted era. “We sold 40 some million records, [had] four No. 1 albums and you just scratch that off of your brother’s legacy, saying no, that never happened,” Hagar said. “You don’t even want to acknowledge it.”

Hagar publicly asked Alex to name whatever is actually bothering him. “I’m asking Alex, like why? Come clean, what’s your problem? Just come out and say it. Is it the book? Say it. Cabo Wabo? Say it. Maybe if I knew what your problem was, I could fix it.”

What’s Behind the Feud Between Sammy Hagar and Alex Van Halen?

Alex’s 2024 memoir Brothers left out any mention of Hagar’s decade fronting the band. Promoting that book, Alex argued the group’s strongest period predated Hagar’s 1985 arrival: “What happened after Dave left is not the same band… the magic was in the first years, when we didn’t know what we were doing; when we were willing to try anything.”

Alex has since reunited with David Lee Roth for a TEDx talk and called him “a poet,” adding, “We did our best work with Dave.”

Hagar also pointed to Cabo Wabo, the cantina the band opened in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in 1990. When the venture ran into legal and financial trouble, Hagar bought out his bandmates and later turned the business around, eventually selling his Cabo Wabo tequila brand for a reported $91 million, a payday that reportedly still irritates his former bandmates.

Hagar also criticized Alex’s forthcoming photo book, Van Halen, arguing the $475 price tag is unfair to fans given that similar images already circulate online. “Alex wants to just keep releasing all this old stuff and these photographs and charging people for old pictures that you could find on the internet,” Hagar said. “You should be putting them out there for free. To me, he’s doing a lot of stuff wrong for the legacy of Van Halen.”

More Info

• Sammy Hagar fires back after Alex Van Halen calls him a “complete idiot”: “We sold 40 million records. Come clean. What’s your problem?” | Guitar Player
• Sammy Hagar to Alex Van Halen: ‘Come Clean, What’s Your Problem?’ | Ultimate Classic Rock
• Sammy Hagar to Alex Van Halen: ‘Come Clean, What’s Your Problem?’ – KRFO-AM | krforadio.com
• Alex Van Halen Calls Sammy Hagar an ‘Idiot’—Now the Red Rocker Has Responded | wmmr.com