Sammy Hagar has taken to social media to try and clarify the controversial statements he made to Rolling Stone magazine about the importance of restarting the economy, even if it meant putting lives in danger.
Here is his statement in full:
“Hey, Sammy here. (On June 23), Rolling Stone ran a compilation piece from their Quarantine Q&A series. I did that interview a month and a half ago, things change very fast right now, so I wanted to clarify and put a few things into context now. I did that interview May 8th when we were already several weeks into the stay-at-home, which my family and I took very seriously, and things were starting to look up, the curve was beginning flattening.
“So when I was asked if I’d be comfortable enough to get back on stage before a vaccine was out, I was cautiously optimistic. I said, ‘Yeah, not too soon. I want to make sure it’s not escalating. When it’s declining and seems to be going away.’ Big picture, it’s about getting back to work in a safe and responsible way and getting this economy rolling again. I will do my part. I stand by that. I employ 200 people directly and when we tour even more.
“Like everything today, it’s a watch and see over the next few months but we remain cautiously optimistic that with the right improvements and safety measures in place, we might be able to play shows this year. That said, as things change, for the better or worse, we will appropriately adjust our plans.”
Hey, Sammy here. Earlier in the week @RollingStone ran a compilation piece from their Quarantine Q&A series. I did that interview a month and a half ago, so I wanted to clarify and put a few things into context now…
Read more at https://t.co/RRnkmQNYgJ pic.twitter.com/8pKGd2pXUP
— Sammy Hagar (@sammyhagar) June 25, 2020
Rolling Stone confirmed that the interview originally took place in May.
“The comments didn’t generate much of a stir when we originally ran them, but they reappeared earlier this week in another article where we compiled statements about the quarantine by 14 artists. They were picked up HuffPost and then ricocheted all across the internet as if they were new,” according to the magazine.
And a lot of people took issue with those comments, which included Hagar’s statement that he’d “rather personally get sick and even die, if that’s what it takes” to save the economy.
“We have to save the world and this country from this economic thing that’s going to kill more people in the long run,” Hagar says. “I would rather see everyone go back to work. If some of us have to sacrifice on that, OK. I will die for my children and my grandchildren to have a life anywhere close to the life that I had in this wonderful country.”
The platinum-selling vocalist, who’s enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen, added that he’s “not going to go around spreading the disease” yet “there may be a time where we have to sacrifice.”
“I mean, how many people die on the Earth every day? I have no idea,” said Hagar, who owns a home in Marin County. “I’m sorry to say it, but we all gotta die, man.”
Bay Area icon Sammy Hagar OK with trading some lives in order to get economy back on track. https://t.co/tbbX4x0hyM
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) June 25, 2020
John Fogerty: "I'm not dying for Donald Trump" @John_Fogerty @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/hstkGjO6UB
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) June 25, 2020
. @DavidLeeRoth is changing his name. https://t.co/onsRe3ZSeI
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) June 25, 2020
