BRET MICHAELS: 'All Members Of POISON Agreed That We Will Not Perform As POISON Without All Four Original Members'

Bret Michaels says that he and his POISON bandmates have agreed that they would not perform under the POISON name without "all four original members".

Bret's comments come just a day after POISON drummer Rikki Rockett once again expressed optimism that the band would hit the road in 2027 to commemorate the 41st anniversary of POISON's debut album, 1986's "Look What the Cat Dragged In".

Earlier today (Thursday, May 21),the POISON frontman shared the following message via his social media: "Recently, it has come to my attention that there have been some offers for POISON in 2027 and because I would be traveling to awesome Atlantic City tomorrow and Charles Town WV Saturday and both performing & with family over Memorial Day weekend, and out of respect to the other members in POISON to honor the weekend, I would kindly ask that all offers be discussed the week following Memorial Day, as it is a weekend for remembrance and, as I'm the son of a veteran and almost every member of my family have served or is currently serving, as well as the fact I'll be traveling, that we all look to moving discussions of POISON 2027 to the following week which also gives time to see if I can move some of The BMB [BRET MICHAELS BAND] shows and special events that are already being contracted for 2027.

"As I've always said, I'm forever grateful and excited to see my other POISON band members for a reunion and put on a great show for the fans. But as everyone really knows, there is a lot of stuff to agree on and a lot of moving parts and schedules to discuss. I'm sure each member will have the respect to discuss this after Memorial Day weekend as we all know there is no chance to do a real, all-original members reunion if not all the original members are there, nor would we want to, nor would the promoters want it as POISON is nothing more than a name without the original C.C. [DeVille, POISON guitarist], Bobby [Dall, POISON bassist], Rikki and myself giving 100% mind, body and soul. All members of POISON agreed that we will not perform as the name POISON without all four original members. As the fans know, POISON runs off of excitement, positive energy and real live music.

"I have a great feeling we're all going to attempt to make all of this work for 2027."

Rockett recently confirmed that he will pay tribute to "Look What The Cat Dragged In" album by performing the entire LP with his new band, THE ROCKETT MAFIA. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the album, which features the hits "Talk Dirty To Me", "I Want Action", "Cry Tough" and the album's title cut. THE ROCKETT MAFIA features Rikki on drums, Brandon Gibbs (DEVIL CITY ANGELS) on vocals and guitar, Stacey Blades (L.A. GUNS) on guitar and backing vocals, and Tyson Leslie on bass and backing vocals.

In 2015, Rockett and Gibbs joined forces with Dall and DeVille to play several shows as THE SPECIAL GUESTS in what was widely perceived as a not-so-subtle message to Michaels that they weren't willing to remain completely inactive while he pursued a solo career.

Last month, Bret told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" that he and his POISON bandmates were "hoping" to go back on tour in 2027, "'cause I know it's a big question. I think — I really strongly think '27, without going into details yet, is going to be a good reunion year for POISON. I think it's gonna be awesome," he said.

Referencing Rockett's recent claim that the band's 2026 tour was no longer happening after Bret allegedly demanded to earn $6 for every dollar each of his bandmates stood to make from the shows, Michaels continued: "Most people like the drama. I'm an anti-drama guy. I love the guys. I think '27 is gonna be great.

"Rikki is my brother. And you're allowed to agree and you're allowed to disagree, but we're gonna go out there and make it an incredible [tour], honestly," Bret added. "If '27 all works out here … we'll jump on the phone, get the whole band on there, or at least me and Rikki just talking it up and be able to lay out some dates and bring a great reunion tour. But I'm grateful for POISON and I love my brothers and and sisters in the BMB [BRET MICHAELS BAND, Bret's solo group], and I don't see any reason we can't do both and make it great."

This past January, Bret denied that POISON's proposed 40th-anniversary tour fell through because he allegedly wanting more money. During an interview with "Chaz & AJ In The Morning" on 99.1 WPLR, Michaels teased that POISON's 2027 tour could be called "40 Plus One", since it would happen on "Look What the Cat Dragged In"'s 41st anniversary.

"As this thing got further down the road… Remember, when you're booking stuff, we're already booking stuff solo into '27. So this just got backed up. And I'm hoping that, as a founding member, obviously that would be a great day, and I'm positive we can make that happen in '27," Michaels said.

Asked why the 2026 tour was no longer happening after he allegedly demanded six times as much as each of his bandmates, Bret said: "Well, I'm gonna answer that honestly. It never happened. We never got to that part of negotiations."

He noted that when discussions about a tour begin, "they ask me to put together solo numbers and an average, and that's the first part we turn in."

"We ask what the stage is gonna look like, where do we start the tour? I even got into where we're starting the dates, and then all of a sudden, '26, the shows in '26 wanted solo answers, so we moved this to '27 back last summer," Michaels explained.

Bret added that "even the other members haven't commented. They're, like, 'I thought this is going in '27 now,'" Michaels said of the tour.

Michaels went on to say that he and the other members of POISON are still "all friends."

"If you wanna discuss something, we have each other's phone number for the last 45 years," he added.

He continued: "No offense. I love Rikki. I love Bobby. I love C.C.. Don't negotiate on the air [during an interview]. Just call me on the phone, and we'll work out what[ever needs to be worked out]. We've worked it out for 40 other years. Let's work out what we need to work out."

When the interviewer noted that he didn't think anyone would blink if Bret asked for more money, Michaels clarified: "Again, I wanna go into this. That never came up on the table. What comes up on the table is, what's people making solo? What are we doing? You throw it out there. And it's not their fault either. It never finished, the negotiations, on everything. Where's the tour start? Who's opening for us? What lights, what sound, what's the stage look like?

"It's hard to explain to everybody how much goes into making a show great," Bret continued. "And with me, when I'm solo. I could make this decision on the bum runners. If I'm out with POISON, we're four founding members. And rightfully so for that situation. So I wanna make sure the fans hear the truth. It should be a four-way discussion. That's what POISON's meant to be."

POISON last hit the road in 2022 when it supported MÖTLEY CRÜE and DEF LEPPARD on a massive stadium tour. After that tour ended, Michaels went back to performing sporadic shows — consisting almost entirely of POISON hits — with his solo band.

In a January 2026 interview with the New York Post's Page Six, Rockett claimed that Michaels was demanding too much money while they were in discussions about a 40th-anniversary tour.

"We had a great offer, I thought, but we left the table. It didn't work," Rikki said at the time. "Really what it came to was C.C., Bobby and I were all in, and I thought Bret was, but he wanted the lion's share of the money, to the point where it makes it not possible to even do it. It's like $6 to every one of our dollars. You just can't work that way."

"I don't do this just for the money," Rikki continued. "I do have a love for this, absolutely. But at the same time, you don't want to go out and work really hard just to make somebody else a bunch of money."

POISON was founded in 1983 and released "Look What the Cat Dragged In" in May 1986.