In fairness to Crosby there is nothing about the question asked that pertains to his death or how anyone feels.  Now given them the context of the circumstances he probably should have given a more tactful reply as suggested by Skolnick, but overall the reaction by some seems unwarranted.

[Incoming hot take}

He should have just said “Oh shit, I didn’t realize he died, my bad”

Crosby digging deep into his Scottish roots I see.

If you’re going to ask David Crosby a question on Twitter you should really be prepared to not like the answer.

Also if he though EVH was Meh, he’s really not going to give half a fuck about Dee Snider and Tracii Guns opinions.

..was he aware that Van Halen died? If you’d asked me before his death what I thought of him and his influence on rock music my answer would’ve been a hell of a lot less polite than “meh”.

If Tracii Guns and Alex Skolnick are multi-millionaires in the year of our lord 2020, I need to reach out to them for investment advice.

A reply mentions he should have said:

So many dumb things, 1) asking David Crosby about EVH’s death...like, who cares what David Crosby thinks about that... 2) the odd answer (again, to a question he clearly didn’t even care about) 3) other wildy-offended multi-millionaires immediately lashing out inane screeds upon him for not paying the respect they…

did he write that from The Enchantment Under the Sea dance?
 

Let him finish!!! “Eddie Van Halen: meh favorite guitar player.”

If UK law is so easily influenced by celebrity opinion, I agree that that sucks. However, dismissing my opinion as “Americanocentric” doesn’t make sense when the game is to be sold in America, which has a wider audience, and honestly has many times the number of trans people in its population as the UK. So our…

Hate speech is an opinion. Why is anyone arguing this at all? It detracts from discussions of the actual issues. Stay focused on what’s actually important instead of this idiocy.

..hate speech is not an opinion.

So when are any of you going to boycott the thousands of other companies who actively donate to republican/conservative campaigns? The people that actually pass laws that determine the fate of trans people?

Uh, she does have the right to her opinions.

Honestly I like her and HP even more now. She was smart enough to sell the rights, and she is a person not afraid to share her opinion and not bend to the online bs woke mob.

Some people here seem to think she needs WB...WB needs her. That’s why they’re defending her. She’s never not going to get a cut of anything Harry Potter. Ever. Be prepared for that. She will monetarily benefit from anything related to the franchise until she fully sells the rights. How could it be anything otherwise?…

hate speech is not an opinion.

This just in! Author of book not allowed to be removed from IP despite being a dick! 17th Century Philosophers Rejoice!