Dee Snider has revealed that he has suffered another significant injury, announcing that he broke his shoulder after falling on a concrete basketball court.
The Twisted Sister singer shared the update on X, where he described the latest setback as a “new cruelty” and revealed that doctors are considering shoulder replacement surgery.
“Hey kids. New cruelty. Fell on a concrete basketball court and broke my shoulder,” he wrote. “Looking at a shoulder replacement now. And this is why we can’t have nice things…. “
The injury adds to what has already been an extremely difficult period for Snider, who recently stepped away from performing after a series of serious physical and health-related problems.
In February, Twisted Sister announced that its long-awaited 50th-anniversary reunion would not go ahead as originally planned. The band canceled its previously announced 2026 performances after Snider experienced a number of health challenges. Twisted Sister later revealed that Sebastian Bach would take over vocal duties for the band’s upcoming appearances.
Snider discussed his decision to stop performing during a March appearance on the Beardo & Weirdo podcast, hosted by Chris Kael of Five Finger Death Punch and comedian Craig Gass.
One of the major factors was the physical damage caused by decades of performing at an intensely energetic level. Snider recalled a conversation with his surgeon after being confronted with the condition of his body.
He said at the time: “First of all, becoming face-to-face with mortality. And as the doctor said to me, ‘Dude, you’re great, amazing for a 71-year-old. But you can’t do that anymore. You’re done. Your body parts are worn out, and you got nothing left.’ And the funniest thing [was] when the surgeon looked at my X-ray, [he said], ‘Do you jump around much?’ ‘Yeah. That’s kind of what I do.’ He goes, ‘Yeah, well, you’re done,’” he said.
Seeking a hip replacement to prolong his career, the singer was dealt another blow when doctors discovered dangerous hypertension and hidden heart issues. Ultimately, his family stepped in to put his health first.
“And my family literally had to sit down with me and pretty much begged me to stop. And basically, my kids, they’re, like, ‘Why are you doing this? What do you got to prove? It’s not a financial thing for you. You’ve got everything that you ever dreamed of, everything you wanted. It’s pure ego.’”
Snider humorously pointed the finger at Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson for giving him temporary false hope about his physical capabilities.
“Also — I blame Bruce Dickinson. I’m blaming Bruce Dickinson because when I found out that my hip was shot, I get a call from Bruce. I hadn’t spoken to him since the Powerslave tour. And he reaches out to say, ‘Dee,’ he said, ‘I’ve had it done twice.’ He goes, ‘And I’m back in action.’ And I said, ‘You’re back in action?’ Now mind you, I think Bruce is 10 years younger than me. I said, ‘You’re back in action?’ He says, ‘Yeah, man. I’m thrusting, I’m parrying.’ I said, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. What about the band?’ ‘Oh, yeah, the band too. But I’m fencing, man.’ All he cared about was that he was still thrusting and parrying. But when I heard him say, ‘Okay, back in action a hundred percent,’ I was, like, ‘All right, I could do this.’”
Encouraged by the conversation, Snider had his hip repaired and attempted a test run on stage with Lita Ford, similar to past guest spots he had done with Bret Michaels. The result was a disaster.
“And that’s when I was going for the surgery that I found out that I had a heart issue that I did not know about. And that was when they pulled the rug out from under me. And then I still — like an a**hole — so I got the hip. It was better. I’m, like, ‘You know what? I’m going out there. I wanna test it out.’ Lita Ford had asked me to do a few songs with her, like I used to do with Bret [Michaels] and stuff.”
Snider continued: “So I go up there on stage and I walk out on stage and I’m going, ‘Damn, this thing feels good.’ I’m thrusting and I’m parrying — bounce, bounce, bounce, and the knee goes. Three bounces — knee goes. And I’m, like, ‘Whoa. Son of a bi**h.’ And I’m just hearing that surgeon going, ‘You’re done. You’re done. You’re done.’”
After having his knee surgically repaired, Snider chose to prioritize his current quality of life, which includes living at his North Carolina family compound, directing a movie, and hosting his syndicated radio show, ‘House Of Hair‘. He also noted a strong desire to preserve the legacy of Twisted Sister’s original 2016 farewell.
“So I got the knee fixed, and I was, like, all right, am I gonna keep playing this game? I go out there and then I break something else and I tear something else, or I injure something else, or I enjoy my life. Day to day, I’m living my best life, without a doubt. I built a family compound in North Carolina. I’ve got all my kids, my wife, my grandkids, everybody here. I’m living a good life. I’m directing my first movie in a couple of months. I’m writing. I’m doing other things. I’m still doing my radio show. 29 years I’ve been doing my syndicated radio show, ‘House Of Hair‘. So it’s not that I’m lacking any outlet or creativity or tension. But for my ego, do I really need to get up there on stage and I could prove that I could do it one more time?”
He concluded: “When Twisted Sister retired in 2016 — that was 10 years ago — I had a 29-inch waist, I weighed 175 pounds. I had an eight-pack. I’m ripped to shreds. At 61 years old I am ripped to shreds and I am performing at my peak. And it was a friend of mine [who] said, ‘You really wanna go back 10 years later? You know you can’t take your shirt off. You know you ain’t got no 29-inch waist. That ship sailed a few inches ago.’ And he goes, ‘You can’t possibly compare to that. You went out on a high note. You were 61. You said, ‘Goodbye, everybody.’ And now you’re gonna come back 10 years later and suck?’ And I may not suck, but that was besides the health issues. Even if I go out there, I’m 10 years older. I’m 10 years more worn out.”
