DEE SNIDER On His Decision To Back Out Of TWISTED SISTER's Reunion Tour: 'My Kids Sat Me Down And Said, 'Please Stop''

During an appearance on the latest episode of "The Jasta Show", hosted by HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta, TWISTED SISTER singer Dee Snider opened up about the "health challenges" that forced him to back out of taking part in the band's 50th-anniversary reunion tour in 2026. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm not dying anytime soon. But I am dealing with issues that if I don't deal with them, I could kill myself. And my dad is 95 years old, and my mom, before she got hit by the car, God bless her, she was as healthy as a horse at 85… I've got longevity, but I can't do the things I do and expect to enjoy that longevity, the things the way I did them."

He continued: "My body's been causing me problems with growing arthritis and degenerative arthritis through my shoulders, my neck, my arms. It's worked down my legs. It's throughout my body. It hurts all the time. And I was taking so many painkillers, and I'm not the drug guy. I'm not the drug guy, but when you're in pain, you're just looking for relief. But it was screwing up my other organs, because you can't take even Advil. You start downing them by the handful, and before you know it, that's what you're doing all day long. You start hurting the liver, the kidneys or other organs in your body. And that started to become an issue for me. It was really when they discovered that I have hypertension and some heart issues that I have to address, and by addressing it means I gotta calm the fuck down."

Elaborating on the physical limitations which caused him to decide to cancel his participation in TWISTED SISTER's reunion shows, Dee said:  "[SLAYER bassist/vocalist] Tom Araya was a thrasher in his heart of hearts to the bitter end, but his neck gave out, as they do, and he could no longer [thrash around like he used to], as you know, in the years with SLAYER. And it hurt him. I read it. He said, 'The fact that I can't throw down' — I'm paraphrasing — 'with the audience. I can't bang and thrash, whip my head around like I used to do,' he said, 'it makes me sad that I can't do that.' … And I'm not trashing Tom — please don't take it as that — I'm applauding him and I'm commiserating with him and that feeling. I just don't know if I could stop myself. … That's the thing — I don't think I can… But the point is I don't know if I could do it. I don't know if I could stop myself. I don't know if I would want to… My kids sat me down and said, 'Please stop' — some were crying — 'because you are gonna kill yourself,' 'cause they know who I am."

After Jasta pointed out that a lot of TWISTED SISTER fans would just be glad to see Dee perform the band's classic songs, even if he is unable to put on the same physical show that he is known for, Snider said: "When I told the band I'm leaving the band and I'm not doing the reunion shows, there was a lot of trying to — I'll put it in the nicest way possible — accommodate me and make it workable. 'We'll have medical technicians. We'll wheel you on and off stage. I'm gonna get the same crew that handled [MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist] Mick Mars [who is suffering with degenerative bone condition ankylosing spondylitis], wheel him out on stage, go do the show.' They were offering me everything. And I wasn't asking for all this stuff. And [my manager] Phil [Carson], said, 'Dee, you cannot do this. I know you. I've stood on stage and watched you for decades. You cannot do this. You'll hurt yourself.' And he called the guys up and said, 'He's out. He cannot do this. So stop offering him everything in the world.' And I love the guys, because it wasn't like a lack of caring or whatever. Now once you get in the head that we're gonna do it, it got to be kind of this thing, like, this victory lap, and we weren't even thinking about it and then all of a sudden it became a thing and it was exciting. But people who truly love me — I'm not saying the guys [in the band] don't love me — told me, 'Please don't do this, because we know you and you can't stop.'"

Earlier this month, it was announced that Sebastian Bach was chosen to front TWISTED SISTER for the band's fall 2026 shows after Snider resigned from the group due to health challenges.

TWISTED SISTER's 2026 shows will feature Bach along with guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda. Russell Pzütto, who has toured with Snider's solo projects, will replace bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza on bass. Joe Franco, who briefly played with the group in the mid-1980s, was supposed to sit behind the drum kit, stepping in for A.J. Pero, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 55. However, Franco is not available to play the fall 2026 shows and will be replaced by Joey Cassata, who played drums on Ace Frehley's final original solo album, "10,000 Volts".

At press time TWISTED SISTER has not announced the full list of shows it plans to play with Bach outside of a September 4 stop at the Alaska State Fair.

Three years ago, TWISTED SISTER staged a one-off reunion at the Metal Hall Of Fame in Agoura Hills, California. On hand to be inducted into the Metal Hall Of Fame were Snider, French, Mendoza and drummer Mike Portnoy. Ojeda was absent from the event after contracting COVID-19; filling in for him was Keith Robert War. TWISTED SISTER played a highly charged three-song set consisting of the staples "You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll" and "Under The Blade", as well as the anthem "We're Not Gonna To Take It".

TWISTED SISTER's original run ended in the late '80s. After more than a decade, the band publicly reunited in November 2001 to top the bill of New York Steel, a hard-rock benefit concert to raise money for the New York Police And Fire Widows' And Children's Benefit Fund.