Alex Van Halen Says David Lee Roth's Digs at Wolfgang Van Halen Are a 'Sign of Respect'

Mar. 15, 2025

Wolfgang Van Halen; David Lee Roth; Alex Van Halen.Photo:Kevin Mazur/Getty Images,ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images, Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images,ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images, Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Alex Van Halentook no issue withDavid Lee Roth’sunsolicited digsat former bandmateWolfgang Van Halenearlier this year. And in fact, the drummer says the insults are actually something of a compliment.

“To me, it’s a sign of respect, that he actually thinks that Wolfie’s on the same level as the old master Dave, right?” he said of his nephew. “The other thing is that Wolf can easily take care of himself. It’s not a problem.”

Roth, who left Van Halen in the 1980s but later rejoined, posted abizarre videoin January that began with a fake interview positioning Wolfgang as Jesus Christ and his father Eddie, the late Van Halen guitarist, as God. The clip — which Roth captioned “This F—in Kid” — ridiculed Wolfgang for receiving an advantage due to nepotism.

Wolfgang Van Halen and David Lee Roth perform in Los Angeles in 2012.Chelsea Lauren/WireImage

Chelsea Lauren/WireImage

Wolfgang, 33, joined his father’s band on bass after Michael Anthony’s exit in 2006, and he played alongside his dad, uncle and Roth untilEddie’s death in 2020at age 65.

“Bro, I want people to know I got this job because of my talent,” a Wolfgang impersonator says in Roth’s video. “I would have this job anyway, even if my dad wasn’t God. I just want people to know I got this job because of my talent."

Roth claimed the younger Van Halen threw a woman out of two concerts for revenge, thinking she was Roth’s girlfriend when she was actually an accountant overseeing the tour’s payroll.

(L-R) Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen.Fin Costello/Redferns

Fin Costello/Redferns

“You have to take what he says with a grain of salt, considering he also said that he wrote ‘Eruption’ and came up with [Eddie Van Halen’s custom guitar] the Frankenstein Strat,” continued the Mammoth WVH frontman, son of Eddie and Valerie Bertinelli. “He said he wrote all the solos that Dad wrote. I guess that’s all I can say.”

The Mammoth WVH singer added that he doesn’t believe Roth has an issue with him personally.

“I seem to have been born into this Van Halen drama that has come way before me,” he said. “And now that my dad isn’t here to be a target, I guess he went to the next best thing.”

Alex’s bookBrothers, a love letter to Eddie, is out on Oct. 22.

source: people.com