Dee Snider Assures Fans After Retiring from Live Performances: “I’m Not Dying”

Dee Snider has assured fans that he’s “not dying” after rumors about his health issues began to spread following his recent resignation from Twisted Sister.

“I’m not dying,” Snider bluntly stated on his radio show “House of Hair” (via Facebook and transcribed by Blunt Magazine). “No, not never; I mean, we’re all dying, but not immediately.”

Earlier this month, the 70-year-old Snider announced his resignation from Twisted Sister and his retirement from performing live, citing health issues. The bombshell effectively cancelled the band’s highly anticipated 50th anniversary reunion shows, with guitarist Jay Jay French later stating that there was “no other choice” but to nix the gigs.

Then, fans began to wonder just how serious Snider’s health issues were.

“My announcement about canceling the tour for health reasons, problems with my heart, arthritis, things like that, the rumors have run wild that I am on my death bed … I am not,” Snider said. ‘I just can’t do those things that I did in my 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and even 60s. Alright? Otherwise I’m alive and well. I’m enjoying life.”

Dee said that he’ll continue his other pursuits, including his radio show and the direction of a new movie, but “you won’t see me on the stage kicking ass like I used to, because that will mess me up.”

In his original statement, Snider mostly attributed his retirement to his inability to perform at the level that he used to. He reiterated those sentiments, using Willie Nelson as a comparison.

“The truth of the matter is, I don’t want you to see me up there being less than you expect me to be,” Snider said. “You got memories of the great shows that I did, that’s what I want to leave you with. Not me standing up there like Willie Nelson — nothing wrong with Willie, 95 years old, in a wheelchair — but you know what I’m saying. I went out rockin’, I’m still rockin’ here, I ain’t stopping. I got a lot of life to live. My dad is 95 and still kicking, so I’m expecting to be around for a long time.”

He concluded: “Don’t worry about old Dee. Thank you.”

Watch the clip below.