Valerie Bertinelli told son Wolfie no Van Halen biopics until after she’s dead

Valerie Bertinelli isn’t ready to see Van Halen to make the jump (jump!) to the big screen anytime soon.

The One Day at a Time actress, who was married to late guitarist Eddie Van Halen for two decades, revealed on Monday’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show that she has already notified their Wolfgang Van Halen that he can’t release a biopic about the band until after her death. 

The revelation came up during a conversation with host Drew Barrymore about Sam Mendes’ upcoming Beatles biopics, which will be released in four separate installments focusing on each of the individual members in April 2028. “Oh god, I hope they never do one of Van Halen,” Bertinelli confessed. “Make sure I’m dead. I told Wolfie, ‘Make sure I’m dead.’” 

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Host Drew Barrymore immediately quipped back, “Oh you know they’re gonna do one of Van Halen.” 

The 50 First Dates actress then asked Bertinelli who she’d pick to play herself in the biopic. “Oh… Selena Gomez. She would be amazing,” Bertinelli replied. She then quickly added, “But Selena, don’t do it! Please don’t do it!” 

Barrymore was fully on board with Bertinelli’s dream casting, before noting that they’d just have to “figure it out together” when the biopic is inevitably released. “I’ll be dead,” Bertinelli teased, to which the host adamantly responded, “No you won’t!” 

Earlier in their conversation, Bertinelli opened up about being compared to Yoko Ono — John Lennon’s second wife who, to this day, many Beatles fans unjustly claim is responsible for breaking up the band — while married to Van Halen. 

When Barrymore expressed her confusion over the pair’s connection, Bertinelli replied, “Oh you didn’t know that I broke up Van Halen?” Through her laughter, she added, “As if I had the power to break up a band.” 

The comparison, however, never brought her down. “I wore it proudly,” Bertinelli said. “Yoko is an amazing woman. She’s an artist. And she did not break up the Beatles. The Beatles had their own issues.”

And, just like those Liverpool lads, Bertinelli noted that Van Halen “definitely had their own issues,” too. 

“And it wasn’t all Ed’s fault, okay? I’m just gonna put that out there,” she clarified. “Everybody loves to blame Ed and he can’t defend himself — nowhere near was it all Ed’s fault, he was a quiet… he just wanted to write his music and play his music.” (Eddie, a Grammy-winning rocker and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, died of cancer at 65 in 2020.)

Van Halen’s members have always had strenuous relationships with one another — and that hasn’t changed even after the band officially disbanded following Eddie’s death. Just last year, frontman David Lee Roth laid into Wolfgang Van Halen in an expletive-ridden rant in which he claimed that the 34-year-old earned his place in the band through nepotism.

Wolfgang responded to Roth’s claims in a subsequent interview, explaining that he was “born into this Van Halen drama” and hasn’t been able to shake it yet. He added, “I guess now that my dad isn’t here to be a target, I guess he went to the next best thing.”

Drummer Alex Van Halen also revealed last year that a proposed reunion tour was cancelled after Roth refused to pay tribute to Eddie.

The Drew Barrymore Show airs weekdays on CBS.