Bacon’s Law might not apply to everyone — but a popular photograph might have you thinking so.
No, a young Kevin Bacon did not ask David Lee Roth (of Van Halen fame) for an autograph, a claim the actor debunked himself.
The photograph went viral on Reddit in mid-May 2022, with a caption that read: “David Lee Roth signs a Van Halen record for an unknown actor named Kevin Bacon-1978.”
This picture has been circulating for a while, and Bacon himself responded to the claim in 2021 from his verified Twitter account:
But even with this false photographic connection, we did learn that Bacon’s Law still applies to these two celebrities. "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," or Bacon’s Law, is a game in which people try to connect any Hollywood celebrity to Bacon.
Roth was the lead singer for Van Halen, and was briefly replaced by Sammy Hagar, who sang for the soundtrack of Bacon’s hit film “Footloose” in 1984. Fewer than six degrees, we'd say.
Either way, we rate this claim about the photograph above as “Miscaptioned.”
Sources
"Bacon’s Law | NEXUS." University of Toronto. https://nexus.law.utoronto.ca/bacons-law#:~:text=Six%20Degrees%20of%20Separation%2C%20a,number%20in%20Google%27s%20search%20engine. Accessed 20 May 2022.
Griggs, Brandon. “Kevin Bacon on ‘Six Degrees’ Game: ‘I Was Horrified’ | CNN Business.” CNN, 9 Mar. 2014, https://www.cnn.com/2014/03/08/tech/web/kevin-bacon-six-degrees-sxsw/index.html. Accessed 20 May 2022.
“Sammy Hagar Shares Tony Nomination For ‘Footloose.’” MTV News, https://www.mtv.com/news/1429848/sammy-hagar-shares-tony-nomination-for-footloose/. Accessed 20 May 2022.
Twitter, https://twitter.com/kevinbacon/status/1370150598553694208. Accessed 20 May 2022.
“Van Halen’s Former Singer Sammy Hagar Says He Has ‘No Problem’ with David Lee Roth.” NME, 7 Nov. 2021, https://www.nme.com/news/music/van-halens-former-singer-sammy-hagar-says-he-has-no-problem-with-david-lee-roth-3089117. Accessed 20 May 2022.
