Rolling Stone Founder Jann Wenner Removed from Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Board After Belittling Black and Female Musicians

Jann Wenner (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame co-founder Jann Wenner was kicked from the organization's board after his recent controversial interview.

In a chat with The New York Times this week, Wenner said women and black artists were not “intellectual enough” to be interviewed for his new book, The Masters.

In response, the Hall Of Fame voted to remove Wenner from its board, and the Rolling Stone founder issued an apology.

Shared through his book's publisher, Wenner said: “In my interview with The New York Times, I made comments that disparaged the contributions, genius and influence of black and female artists and I wholeheartedly apologize for those remarks.”

“The Masters is a collection of interviews I've conducted over the years that I feel best represent the idea of ​​rock 'n' roll's impact on my world; they are not intended to represent the entirety of music and its diverse and important originators, but to reflect key points in my career and interviews that I feel illustrate the breadth and experience of that career.”

He added: “They do not reflect my appreciation and admiration for the many, many totemic, world-changing artists whose music and ideas I respect and will celebrate and promote as long as I live. I completely understand the inflammatory nature of my poorly chosen words and deeply apologize and accept the consequences.”

In his new book, Wenner asks questions of seven “rock philosophers,” notably all white men – Bono, Bob Dylan, the late Jerry Garcia, Mick Jagger, the late John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen and Pete Townshend.

In the book's introduction, Wenner writes that women and artists of color were not included in its zeitgeist (the dominant thinking of a time that describes and influences a culture of that time). He faced questions about this in an interview and argued that it was not a “conscious choice”.

“It's been an intuitive thing for years; it just fell off. These people have to meet some criteria, but that's just my personal interest and love for them. "As far as women are concerned, none of them are articulate enough at this intellectual level," he said.

Marchese responded by asking, “You're telling me that Joni Mitchell isn't articulate enough on an intellectual level?”

Wenner responded: “It's not that they aren't creative geniuses. However, that doesn't mean they're not good at talking, have a deep conversation with Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. Please, be my guest. Did you know, Joni is not a rock 'n' roll philosopher. In my opinion, he doesn't meet that test. Not because of his job, not because of the other interviews he had. The people I interviewed were rock philosopher types.

“On black artists - you know, Stevie Wonder, genius, right? I think when you use a word as broad as "master," the error is in the use of the word. Maybe Marvin Gaye, or Curtis Mayfield? I mean, they can't articulate it at that level.”