Wolfgang Van Halen discussed Michael Anthony fans trashing him in a new Forbes interview.
“I don’t think it was a personal thing. I think it was their love for Michael Anthony; it had nothing to do with me as a person. It’s just that they would have much rather seen him without realizing the back story of how [the reunion] probably wouldn’t have happened without me because dad felt incredibly uninspired and, especially when he was sober, he had a monumental anxiety issue and having me there made him more comfortable and creative.
Now that people are starting to learn the truth behind everything so many people understand and actually apologized directly to me on Twitter, like, ‘Hey, man, I hated you before, but I realize that I actually never really knew you. I just hated you for a reason outside of your control and I just wanted to apologize. I feel terrible.’ That’s a really big thing for people to do, especially on the Internet. So I’ve been really touched by how kind people have been that may have been rude to me in the past. It all rolled off my back anyways. But it takes a big person to admit when they’re wrong. And these people are certainly doing that in droves and I can’t believe it.”
Eddie said himself in a 2009 interview that the reunion only happened due to Wolfgang, “Yeah, it was incredibly important to him and I don’t think people really took his words to heart, I don’t think they really believed it. They wanted to look to the negative. In this day and age it’s always about the cynical reaction and everything, so the true meaning behind what he was saying never really resonated.”
