Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony’s joint Instagram account, Van Hagar / Other Half, shared a video clip of an old Alex Van Halen interview. The move came in direct response to Hagar’s criticism of Alex for overlooking his era of Van Halen in Alex’s recent book.
In the shared video, Alex Van Halen spoke candidly about the origins of the band and Sammy Hagar’s long-standing connection to Van Halen. Hagar captioned the post with a pointed endorsement of the clip.
“The one-and-only Alex Van Halen telling it like it was!” Hagar wrote in the caption.
In the video, Alex Van Halen offered a revealing look at the band’s early history and Hagar’s place within it.
“We basically followed our hearts,” Alex said. “We knew in our heart that this was going to be a great band, and we like to refer to it as the real Van Halen.”
Alex then disclosed a little-known detail about Hagar’s ties to the group that predated his official tenure.
“As a matter of fact, Sammy was actually a choice of vocalist in 1977 when we signed with Warner Brothers,” he continued. “Now, nobody would cop to it, but that’s the doggone truth. But because of legal entanglements and contracts, and because Van Halen was unproven, nothing was ever really pursued.”
The post served as Hagar’s public rebuttal to Alex’s 2024 memoir, Brothers, which focused almost entirely on his life and relationship with his late brother Eddie Van Halen. The Sammy Hagar era received little to no attention in the book. That decision did not sit well with Hagar or his longtime bandmate Michael Anthony.
Alex has been open about why he drew that line. He stated that he deliberately chose to end the book’s narrative in 1984. In his view, the original lineup was the driving force behind Van Halen, and the story he wanted to tell was rooted in that era. That framing effectively wrote Hagar out of the picture entirely.
Brothers was published by HarperCollins in October 2024. Since its release, Alex has largely stepped back from public life, making Hagar’s Instagram post all the more pointed given the timing.
The dispute highlights a divide that has long existed in the Van Halen fanbase over which era of the band holds more weight. Hagar fronted Van Halen from 1985 to 1996. That period produced four studio albums and a string of chart successes. His use of Alex’s own words to defend that legacy was a deliberate and calculated move.
In a separate interview, Alex made his position on the original lineup even clearer. He stated that “the essence, the spirit and the balls to the wall was the first model of Van Halen.” That sentiment, combined with the structure of Brothers, left little room for interpretation about where Alex stood — making Hagar’s Instagram response all the more direct.
