David Lee Roth blasts Wolfgang Van Halen in bizarre video

David Lee Roth ain’t talkin’ ‘bout love when it comes to Wolfgang Van Halen. 

The Van Halen singer has blasted the 32-year-old musician — who not only served as the band’s bassist for several years, but is also the son of late Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli — in an audio clip published on his YouTube channel on Wednesday. Among his list of grievances, Roth cited two examples in which he claimed Wolfgang exhibited poor judgment while the group was on tour.  

Roth began his verbal tirade with a thinly veiled jab at Wolfgang earning his place in Van Halen through nepotism in a spoof interview with Jesus Christ. During their conversation, the religious figure claims that it was Wolfgang’s “talents” that got him the gig, not “God,” and Roth sarcastically agrees. 

However, after the faux interview, Roth aired his real feelings about Wolfgang. 

“This f—in’ kid! He’s complaining the entire tour like I’m not paying enough attention to him on stage,” he said. “I’m giving him the best, everything I’ve got, in front of twenty, thirty thousand people at a clip, and he’s complaining to everybody around me — the business manager, the security guy, the clothing lady — ‘Dave’s not paying enough attention to me.’”

Roth then claimed that Wolfgang once kicked out his guests at one of the group’s New York City concerts. “This schlemiel kid,” he said, calling his former bandmate a “fool” in Yiddish, “has commandeered a couple of monkeys to go in back, behind my back, over to the side of the stage and throw out these two great dames that I invited to be my guests to the show.”

The women were more than just Roth’s special guests, he revealed. “In fact, you aren’t gonna believe this s—. This f—in’ kid, what he doesn’t know is that these two dames work for the accounting firm that represent him, not me,” he said. “But as usual, he, just like his uncle and his uncle’s brother, stiffed them for tickets.”

“He’s teaching me a lesson,” Roth added. “What this f—ing kid doesn’t know? They’re carrying the paychecks for all 82 people on the road crew.”

Roth then alleged that Wolfgang tossed out guests a second time when the band was performing in Los Angeles. “We’re at the Hollywood Bowl, I’m about to launch into ‘Ice Cream Man,’ and this f—ing kid!” he said. “He commandeers two muscle monkeys, locates the one dame that is my guest. She’s off in the wings of the Hollywood Bowl, they find her, make her do the walk of shame past all the other guests and out into the parking lot, and throw her out of the building.”

“Wolfie Van Halen’s gonna teach me a lesson by throwing out what he thinks is my girlfriend,” he continued. “Guess what? Not only is this an accountant again, and not only is she carrying the paychecks for 82 of us on the road crew, but she’s carrying cash bonuses for everybody there.” 

He concluded, “You may wanna pull over on this next one — you’re gonna pee your pants. Remember New York City? It’s the same f—kin’ lady. This f—ing kid. This f—ing kid!”

Representatives for Roth and Wolfgang did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.

Van Halen’s members have always had unique — and, often times, strenuous — relationships with one another. Roth previously left to pursue a solo career following the success of the band’s album 1984, but he returned for a stint in 1996 and then took over as its frontman again from 2007 until 2020. In 2006, Eddie tapped his son, Wolfgang, to replace founding bassist Michael Anthony, sparking further controversy.

Wolfgang played with Van Halen until the group disbanded after his father’s death in 2020. He then went on to create his own band, Mammoth WVH, who released their first album in 2021.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly’s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content: