Alex Van Halen’s latest Eddie tribute has sparked calls for a Sammy Hagar peace deal. The Van Halen drummer shared a rare Instagram post with a stage photo of his late brother, Eddie Van Halen. Many fans responded by urging him to make peace with former Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar. Alex had publicly called Hagar a “complete idiot” in a recent interview.
The post’s caption was a short message about the band and his brother’s legacy.
“Van Halen Forever,” Alex Van Halen wrote. “We Are Van Halen. Unfinished. Brothers.”
Fans quickly filled the comments section. Some asked Alex to resolve his differences with the band’s former members.
“Love you Al,” one Van Halen fan commented. “Just wish you could bury the damn hatchet with the other former members and get a proper 1 off gig to honor Ed and the band’s entire legacy.”
Other fans focused on Hagar’s era with the band and on the need for reconciliation.
“Sammy years are still the best years!” another Van Halen fan commented.
A third fan addressed Alex directly. “Make up with Sam, Al,” the fan wrote. “Life is too short.”
Alex Van Halen has not publicly responded to the comments.
The fans’ pleas come after a month of public sniping between the two men. The latest round began earlier this September and shows how deep the rift remains.
Alex made the “complete idiot” remark in an interview with the Brazilian magazine Roadie Crew. Journalist Marcelo Vieira asked him about Hagar’s 2011 memoir, Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock. The book reignited the long-running feud between the two.
“I don’t know what he wrote, and I don’t wanna know,” Alex said. “In my opinion, Sammy Hagar is a complete idiot.”
Hagar answered in two stages. He first posted a short reply on Instagram, calling the comment “so unnecessary at this time in our lives.” He then addressed it at length on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk on Sept. 17. He joked about the insult, saying, “Guilty as charged, first of all. I’m probably the most successful idiot on the planet.”
His tone turned more serious when he discussed the band’s legacy. Hagar argued that Alex keeps dismissing the success of the Van Halen years with him. He also asked his former bandmate to explain the grudge.
“We sold 40-some million records, four number-one albums, and you just scratched that off of your brother’s legacy,” Hagar said.
A reunion looks unlikely. Earlier this year, Hagar suggested he would “never play” with Alex again, more than 20 years after their last tour together. He also said he had reconciled with Eddie before the guitarist’s death. That reconciliation never extended to Alex.
