Van Halen’s Sammy Hagar Never Wants to Play With Alex Van Halen Again: He’s ‘Negative’

Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar is speaking his truth.

In a recent interview with Classic Rock, the 78-year-old musician implied that he has no plans to mend fences with former bandmate Alex Van Halen, who — along with late brother Eddie Van Halen — founded the famed rock band.

Comparing their alleged feud to the drama with fellow rockers Pink Floyd, Hagar said, “I’m the biggest Pink Floyd fan. I see David Gilmour say, ‘I will never play with Roger Waters again,’ and I know what he means.”

“I feel that way about Alex Van Halen,” Hagar told Classic Rock of the band’s longtime drummer. “They’re negative people.”

According to an April 2025 article in Rolling Stone, the pair haven’t spoken in over 20 years, and Alex didn’t even mention Hagar’s name in his 2024 memoir, Brothers. The reason for their fallout, however, is unclear.

“I think Al’s angry because I’m out doing it, and Mike and I are out doing it, and he can’t,” Hagar told Rolling Stone, referencing his collaboration with bassist Michael Anthony.

“[Alex is] not a singer,” Hagar continued. “He’s not a guitar player. He is not really a band leader. And he seems like he doesn’t want to play drums or can’t play drums anymore, and he can’t go write a new record.”

“Alex wasn’t the songwriter in the band. He was the drummer,” Hagar said. “Eddie and I wrote the songs. Dave and Eddie wrote the songs, and so we can go out and do them. And I think that really bothers him that Mike and I are still out there doing it. I would feel bad.”

“If I put myself in his shoes, I would feel terrible if I couldn’t do it anymore,” he concluded.

Eddie, the famed guitarist of the group, died of a stroke in California on October 6, 2020, at the age of 65. Hagar previously explained that he reconciled with Eddie before his death following their falling out.