Sammy Hagar Says He Sees a 'Tinge of Jealousy' in David Lee Roth Trash Talking Wolfgang Van Halen
The rock star and the son of the late Eddie Van Halen were both among the performers at a MusiCares event held in honor of Jon Bon Jovi on Saturday
Sammy Hagar doesn’t take the mean-spirited comments that David Lee Roth has made about the late Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang Van Halen lightly.
While speaking with PEOPLE on Saturday ahead of MusiCares’ Person of the Year ceremony and concert held in honor of Jon Bon Jovi at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Hagar, 76, shared his reaction to the recent critical comments that Roth, 69, made about the bassist, 32, who played alongside his father in Van Halen from the time he was 15 in 2006 to 2020.
According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Roth’s negativity towards Wolfgang that he aired out in a viral YouTube video all comes down to “jealousy.”
Related: David Lee Roth Rants About Former Bandmate Wolfgang Van Halen: 'This F—in Kid'
“Look, if you really think about what he said, it's like do I sense a little tinge of jealousy in there or something?” Hagar, who was among the performers at Saturday’s MusiCares event, says.
“Does he feel like he's left out or something?” adds the hard rock legend
“I mean, honestly, the only thing I can say without being cruel is he needs to find a new dispensary,” he jokingly says. “That one's not working for him.”
Roth originally expressed contempt toward the bass player and only son to Eddie and actress Valerie Bertinelli in a video rant shared on social media in late January. The video finds the former Van Halen vocalist mocking Wolfgang's skill and how he benefited from nepotism.
In the YouTube clip, Roth also alleges that Wolfgang claimed the singer didn’t pay attention to him on stage when they toured together and that he once threw out a woman — whom he thought was Roth’s girlfriend but was actually an accountant in charge of their tour’s payroll — at one of their shows.
"This F---in’ Kid,” he captioned a post he made to Instagram of the video.
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Wolfgang, who also performs as Mammoth WVH, played in the lineup of Van Halen with Roth when he rejoined the iconic group in 2007 until they disbanded following the death of the lead guitarist at age 65 in 2020 after a years-long battle with cancer.
Related: All About Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli's Son Wolfgang Van Halen
While Hagar exited the “Jump” band before the young rocker became a member, the two have remained in contact over the years and he told PEOPLE that he was excited to connect with him and see him perform at Saturday’s MusiCares event. (Mammoth WVH was also on the lineup, along with Bruce Springsteen, Shania Twain, Melissa Etheridge, Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll and others.)
This summer, the “I Can’t Drive 55” singer will hit the road with fellow former Van Halen member Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Jason Bonham to tour a set list largely made up of the music of Van Halen.
Related: Sammy Hagar Brags About Making 6 Times the Income of David Lee Roth and Claims 'He's Not a Fun Guy'
Shortly after the tour was announced late last year, Wolfgang shared that he approved of the tribute concert in an interview with iHeartRadio station Q104.3. He said, “Yeah, that's super cool, man. I'm stoked for it.”
Hagar has also opened up about feeling grateful that he was able to remedy his relationship with Eddie before he died.
"Well, to be able to have talked to Eddie and had a wonderful rapport with him on text, it means everything to me," the rocker told Fox News in a May 2023 interview. "If he would have died and we would have not ever said 'I love you' to each other again, I would feel really bad. I probably wouldn't be able to talk… I wouldn't be able to talk to you about it."
Despite their relationship being rocky for a period of time when Hagar departed the band, he added that it "means a lot" that he's able to "feel good about talking about being in Van Halen now."
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