Paul Stanley and Sammy Hagar congratulate this years nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Posted on by

Ultimate Classic Rock

A pair of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, Paul Stanley of Kiss and Sammy Hagar, have offered their congratulations to the incoming Class of 2018. But in doing so, they echoed their long-standing issues with the Hall’s methods of determining who deserves to be enshrined.

“Congratulations to all the inductees especially Bon Jovi who was kept off the ballot for so long and when nominated swept the votes unanimously!” Hagar tweeted. “It just goes to show the people are the ones that should always control the vote.”

Paul Stanley was more blunt in his assessment, writing, “Great to see the [Hall] with little choice while choking on its own stagnant, toxic air, except to open its eyes, ears and doors to survive by reluctantly becoming what it was meant to be all along.”

Kiss’ 2014 induction came after years of snubs and plenty of controversy. Stanley, Gene Simmons and their manager Doc McGhee regularly questioned the Hall’s induction of disco and hip-hop acts while mainstream rock bands were shunned. Then, the Hall’s decision to welcome in only their original lineup opened up plenty of old wounds, although Kiss was more or less on their best behavior when Simmons and Stanley appeared with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss onstage at the ceremony.

Hagar is in for his time in Van Halen, although their 2007 induction was nearly as rough as Kiss’. He and Michael Anthony, both of whom were no longer in the band, were the only members who showed up. As Billboard notes, Eddie Van Halen was in rehab, and David Lee Roth couldn’t agree with Velvet Revolver on what to play.

Both men recently took time to ask their fans to consider the less-fortunate this holiday season. Stanley sent a link to a YouCaring page to raise money for a young family he knows that is going through a struggle with breast cancer. Hagar recently performed in Florida and donated money to the Feeding Tampa Bay food bank.