David Crosby has come under fire thanks to a tweet posted following the death of Eddie Van Halen.
It all started when one of Crosby’s followers asked for his opinion on the recently deceased Van Halen guitarist. The folk singer’s response was simply “Meh.”
The dismissive tone of the tweet immediately caused backlash, as a chorus of Van Halen’s fans criticized Crosby for his response.
“Fuck this guy,” L.A. Guns guitarist Tracii Guns pointedly said of Crosby. “Fuck this answer and most of all fuck this guy. I don’t give a shit what anyone says. That’s bullshit David.”
Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider retweeted Guns’ remarks, adding that he has “always hated @thedavidcrosby AND his mustache.”
In separate tweets, hard rock group Danko Jones described Crosby as “a classless trash bag” who “received accolades from coasting.”
Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick took a more diplomatic approach, tweeting: “I appreciate @thedavidcrosby too much for this to get in the way, but a much better answer would have been: ‘I know he meant a lot to so many but his sound & style just weren’t my thing.’”
Following the outrage of celebrities and fans, Crosby clarified his stance, saying in part, “Look I get it. Many of you loved Van Halen. And the one time I met he was nice. And he was talented. Meh to me means I don’t care that much. And I don’t. Doesn’t mean he wasn’t good, he was but not for me.”
One follower offered a better way that Crosby could have gotten his point across, suggesting the rocker should have said: “I don’t care for the end product, it’s just not my style. But there’s no question at all about his talent and the revolution he brought to the whole industry.” Crosby retweeted the message and called it “better.”
