POISON frontman Bret Michaels has shut down rumors of an internal pay dispute while confirming that the band’s long-rumored anniversary tour is planned for 2027, not canceled.
Speaking in a new interview with “Chaz & AJ In The Morning” on 99.1 WPLR, Michaels was asked whether fans can expect a tour celebrating the 41st anniversary of POISON’s debut album, Look What The Cat Dragged In, which was originally released in 1986. While the tour won’t happen in 2026 as some had hoped, Michaels made it clear that it’s still very much alive.
“We’re just gonna call it hopefully ‘40 Plus One,’” Michaels said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). He went on to explain why the original 40th-anniversary plans were pushed back, adding: “But I can tell you this — 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 also addressed recent comments from POISON drummer Rikki Rockett, who suggested that plans for a 2026 tour fell apart after Michaels allegedly demanded to earn six times more than his bandmates. According to Michaels, that claim is simply not true.
“Well, I’m gonna answer that honestly. It never happened. We never got to that part of negotiations,” he said. “What happens — when you start this, 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.”
He continued: “The reason it’s come up for the third time — no one, even the other members haven’t commented. They’re, like, ‘I thought this is going in ’27 now.’”
Emphasizing that there is no personal animosity within the band, Michaels added: “We’re all friends. And if you wanna discuss something, we have each other’s phone number for the last 45 years. Just call me. No offense. I love Rikki. I love Bobby [Dall, POISON bassist]. I love C.C. [DeVille, POISON guitarist]. 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 it was suggested that fans might not be surprised if Michaels earned more money than the rest of the band, he clarified that compensation was never formally discussed.
“Again, I wanna go into this,” Bret added. “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?
Michaels closed by stressing how complex tour planning can be and why those decisions need to be made collectively. “It’s hard to explain to everybody how much goes into making a show great,” he said. “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.”
As first reported by Page Six, the glam metal veterans had been presented with a strong touring offer, but negotiations ultimately broke down after Michaels allegedly sought a significantly larger share of the earnings. Rockett confirmed the situation in blunt terms, making it clear that the deal simply couldn’t work under those conditions.
“We had a great offer [for a tour this year], I thought. But we left the table,” Rockett said. “It didn’t work.”
He went on to explain that while he, guitarist C.C. DeVille and bassist Bobby Dall were fully on board, Michaels’ demands became the sticking point.
“Really what it came to was [guitarist] C.C. [DeVille], [bassist] Bobby [Dall] 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,” Rockett said. “It’s like $6 to every one of our dollars. You just can’t work that way.”
Rockett emphasized that his motivation for touring goes beyond just a paycheck, but he also stressed that fairness still matters.
“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.”
Despite the disappointment, Rockett made it clear that he harbors no bitterness toward his longtime bandmates and views the situation more as an unfortunate impasse than a personal feud.
“Every member of this band has given me so much privilege in life,” he said. “It’s like hating your parents.”
The drummer also addressed long-standing fan speculation about whether POISON could continue with a different singer. While he didn’t completely rule it out, he made it clear that such a move would be a last resort.
“It’s not out of the question. But doing that is like surgery: it’s the last resort. I don’t want to do that. I’m not quarreling with Bret… We just didn’t come to agreement. I don’t like it, and I’ll say that, but it’s not like, ‘Let’s put up our dukes.’ I don’t think there’s a better frontman for POISON.”
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