Why Sebastian Bach Is Now Apologizing to Christina Applegate

Former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach has issued an apology following renewed attention to his past connection with actress Christina Applegate, which resurfaced in her newly released memoir You With the Sad Eyes.

The book, published on March 3, recounts an encounter between the two that took place during the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards. Applegate describes attending the event with actor Brad Pitt before leaving with the then–Skid Row vocalist later that evening.

In a recent interview with Billboard, Bach addressed the story and reflected on the period.

Bach Addresses the Memoir and Offers an Apology

During the interview, Bach was initially discussing his current stint performing with Twisted Sister, stepping in for longtime frontman Dee Snider. The conversation eventually turned to Applegate’s memoir and the events she described.

Looking back on that era, the singer acknowledged the chaotic nature of life as a young musician on tour.

“I was a single guy on tour in a band and I met a lot of girls and I apologize if I hurt her… if I hurt anybody. When you’re young you get thrown into the whirlwind of rock ‘n’ roll, meeting a lot of people and you better hold on tight. It’s like being on a roller coaster.”

He added that the incident happened decades ago, but still felt it was important to acknowledge any harm caused.

“It was a long time ago. If I hurt anybody, I apologize for it.”

Bach Previously Discussed the Relationship in His Own Memoir

The story had actually surfaced years earlier when Bach wrote about his encounter with Applegate in his 2016 autobiography, 18 and Life on Skid Row. In the book, he described meeting the actress shortly after an interaction with Gene Simmons.

At the time, Bach noted that he had a girlfriend named Maria back home in Toronto and that the couple had recently welcomed a baby. Even so, he admitted he still pursued the connection with Applegate.

“Christina and I hit it off immediately. We exchanged numbers. I really liked her. She was very nice, very beautiful and very famous. Part of me thought that it would be good for the band if I hooked up with her. I thought of Maria back in Toronto but we were not married. No rings? No strings.”

Bach went on to recount several moments they spent together, but insisted that the relationship never became physical.

“We did not make love. I was very attached to Maria back home and Christina was very young.”

Applegate’s Perspective on the Night

In You With the Sad Eyes, Applegate offered her own recollection of the night at the 1989 VMAs, explaining that she had been captivated by Bach while attending the event with Pitt.

“I had spent all night staring at Bach, who was then a long-haired hunk fronting the band Skid Row. I hate to put it like this but Brad back then was still making his way as an actor and he wasn’t yet the Brad Pitt, the man of so many people’s dreams.”

According to Applegate, she and Pitt eventually reconciled years later and were able to look back on the incident with perspective.

“He agreed that I’d been a kid and though he’d deserved much better, it was time to forgive the child who dumped him for the lead singer of Skid Row.”

She concluded the reflection with a wry remark about how time has changed both men’s public images.

“Of course, Brad is now the Brad Pitt and Sebastian Bach… well, he still has long hair, I guess.”

The resurfacing of the story highlights how memoirs often reopen long-forgotten chapters of rock history, offering contrasting memories from the people who lived through them. For Bach, the renewed attention appears to have prompted a moment of reflection on the whirlwind lifestyle that once defined the late-’80s rock scene.