Earlier this week, Sammy Hagar got some attention for what he said in a Rolling Stone interview round-up about what artists are planning to do during the pandemic. Hagar sounded like he was eager to get back out on the road, coronavirus be damned. “This is hard to say without stirring somebody up, but truthfully, I’d rather personally get sick and even die, if that’s what it takes” is precisely what he said.

The backlash from his comments caused Hagar to release a statement that was posted on his Facebook page earlier today. In the statement, he says that the interview with Rolling Stone was conducted over a month ago. “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,” he wrote.

“So when I was asked if I’d be comfortable enough to get back onstage before a vaccine was out, I was cautiously optimistic,” he continued. “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.'” (Despite the quotes in his statement, he did not say that, at least not in the portion of the interview Rolling Stone published.)

“Big picture, it’s about getting back to work in a safe and responsible way and getting this economy rolling again,” Hagar went on. “I will do my part. I stand by that. I employ 200 people directly and when we tour even more.”

Read his full statement below.