David Lee Roth takes aim at Sammy Hagar in ‘Daily Catastrophe’ cartoon

David Lee Roth has seemingly attacked his fellow former Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar in a new cartoon posted on Twitter.

On Twitter Roth has regularly been posting illustrations that depict a fictional newspaper called ‘The Daily Catastrophe’, with the latest appearing to attack Hagar, who replaced Roth as Van Halen frontman in 1985 for an 11-year spell.

In the new cartoon, a figure pilots a worn-out airplane, surrounded by quotes including “Sam the man will be giving his life for rock and roll, but plans to be buried in his recently acquired jet,” and “Red Rocker refuses to fly 55 in afterlife.”

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As well as Hagar’s track ‘I Can’t Drive 55’, the quotes appear to reference an interview he gave in June, where he said that he was willing to “get sick and die” to return to touring amid the coronavirus pandemic.

They may also be referencing the wealth of Hagar, aka The Red Rocker, who recently sold his stake in his Cabo Wabo tequila company for $80 million.

Roth and Hagar’s relationship following their respective tenures in Van Halen has long been acrimonious. They did both front Van Halen on the same tour in the early 2000s, taking turns to headline the show, but reportedly squabbled throughout.

Though the quotes Roth references in the cartoon are some months old, his decision to post it may have been influenced by some of Hagar’s comments in a recent interview.

Speaking about Eddie Van Halen, who passed away in October at the age of 65 following a battle with cancer, Hagar said that before the guitarist’s death Van Halen were discussing a farewell tour that would feature him, Roth, and Van Halen’s late-90s frontman Gary Cherone.

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“I wouldn’t look forward to having to share the stage with Dave, only because he’s not user friendly,” Hagar said.

“I love the guy, I love the music, all that, but he’s just not user friendly. He’s always gonna pull something to try to make you look bad and make him look good and all that kind of stuff.”