Wolfgang Van Halen recently changed his Twitter username, deleting his last name ‘Van Halen‘ and changing it to ‘Led Zeppelin‘ after recent criticism that he used his father’s legacy to establish a reputation.
Wolf had been getting criticism for not playing Van Halen songs during live shows, although he had made clear his wish to form his own musical path with Mammoth WVH. However, it seemed that the accusations changed for different ones since Twitter users also started blaming the rocker for nepotism and using his last name to his advantage.
One particular VH ‘fan’ was harsh with their criticism, accusing Wolf’s wish to form a new musical path of being lies, claiming the rocker used his last name to profit from the attention and reputation of Eddie Van Halen’s legacy. These accusations surely amazed the young Van Halen, but not in a good way, as he answered by pointing out the obvious.
The tweet accusing Wolf of nepotism stated:
“If a person wants to make a name for themselves, they wouldn’t take advantage of their famous father’s last name [and] band name. His [Wolfgang’s] father & uncle didn’t have that. Everyone in the band didn’t have that. Matter of fact, majority of current & former bands & singers didn’t have that.”
The rocker’s replied to the criticism with the following:
“Van Halen is literally my f*cking name, you grape.”
He then changed his last name to Led Zeppelin to humorously ‘prove’ that he didn’t profit from his own last name. Twitter seemingly loved his new last name as most users backed Wolf and jokingly advised him to go for different names, such as ‘Wolfgang Bon Jovi’ or ‘Wolfgang Van Helsing.’ It seemed that there were a variety of choices.
The criticism Wolf received seemingly has two different focuses since while some Van Halen fans accused him of not honoring Eddie’s legacy by not playing VH songs during concerts, others accused the young rocker of using his last name to his advantage and profiting. So… things are a bit complex.
Van Halen is literally my fucking name you grape https://t.co/ceuP5axF1x
— Wolf Van Halen (@WolfVanHalen) March 21, 2023
*ahem* https://t.co/19w1I8sQo8 pic.twitter.com/j4QZfGj9DG
— Wolf Van Halen (@WolfVanHalen) March 23, 2023
