Van Halen Never Approved Stunt To Erase Michael Anthony From Band History

As the saying goes, it only takes on a--hole to ruin something.

For Wolfgang Van Halen, one person in charge of the Van Halen website circa 2007 might be at least partially responsible for stirring up the deluge of digital hate he receives on an almost daily basis.

Wolfie frequently engages online with his fans, but his trolls are awfully active too, and their main gripe with the Eddie Van Halen's son is that he's not Michael Anthony. How dare he, right?

Early Tuesday, Wolfie took to Twitter to acknowledge 9 years since Van Halen's 'A Different Kind of Tour' began in 2011. He then proceeded to discuss his place in Van Halen history after one Twitter user credited him with helping to motivate his father to get back on tour.

"I always assumed your involvement in the band was what got your dad back out on tour, and I was thankful for that," the user wrote.

"It was, but there will always be people who hate me because I'm not Mike," Wolfie replied. "That's understandable. I just wish some of them could at least be indifferent to me instead of vehemently hating me and calling my recently deceased father an a--hole in my mentions."

Another user followed up and suggested Van Halen's handling of the lineup change — not the change itself — was largely responsible for a reluctance to accept Wolfgang as a true member of the band. The user pointed to a 2007 incident (after Wolfgang joined the band) when Anthony's image on the cover of Van Halen's 1978 debut album displayed on the band's website was replaced with a photo of Wolfgang.

Anthony himself responded to the scandal in a Rolling Stone interview — one of the rare times he was publicly critical of his former band. But Wolfgang says the image was never sanctioned by the band.

"That was some dumba-- on the website that did that dumb photoshop s--t," he wrote. "Not a band decision. We were never cool with that. It was ridiculous. Which is why when we found out about it, it was undone immediately."

A number of fans quickly replied, thanking Wolfie for clarifying the scandal, and noting that they never knew the band's side of that story.

While Wolfgang's inclusion in Van Halen was undoubtedly part of the reason the band continued touring after splitting with Anthony, Wolfgang was also a large part of the reason his father agreed to pursue a Van Halen reunion in 2019.

Wolfie explained this past fall that after years of trying he convinced his father to reunite with Anthony and Sammy Hagar for what the father and son affectionately called 'The Kitchen Sink' tour, which would have also featured David Lee Roth and Gary Cherone, with Wolfgang's Mammoth WVH band serving as opening act.

Anthony confirmed in 2019 that he was contacted about the tour but said he was unsure why it didn't move forward. Wolfgang has since confirmed that the reason was a downturn in his father's health.

Though he doesn't have a relationship with the longtime Van Halen bassist Anthony, Wolfie added in an interview with Howard Stern in the fall that he hopes the two get to meet one day.

"I was really looking forward to speaking with him, and that hasn't happened yet," Wolfie said. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity that I have in the future to speak with him. ...I don't think there are [hard feelings]. I've seen things he's said. He's always been an amazing guy."

Photo: Getty Images


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