After weeks of silence, as Eddie Van-Halen has literally tried to remove his very existence from every facet of Van-Halen’s illustrious history, much-maligned ex-Van-Halen bassist Michael Anthony has finally released a statement on his official website, and it’s all very diplomatic, above board, and classy. He takes no shots at anyone in the current Van-Halen camp and even goes so far as to defend his replacement:

“It’s not that I’m not touring with Van Halen because I’m going out with Sammy. I’m going out with Sammy because I was not invited to do the tour. Sammy told me that if I was asked to be part of the VH tour and decided to do it, it would be totally cool, and it would not tarnish our friendship in the least,” Anthony continued. “Well, it’s not to be, and life goes on. I’ll still be out there with Sam, and I can’t wait to do some partying with all of you.”

And then the real kicker is when he addresses his 17 year-old replacement, Eddie Van-Halen’s son, Wolfgang, who will take over bass duties for the 25-city reunion tour: “Don’t judge him too harshly — I’m sure he’ll do just fine.” Damn, I dare say, I’d have been hard-pressed to hold back like that, if I were in his shoes.