Jane Winner, He is the co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine; rock and roll hall of fame, has been removed from the music hall board after making disparaging comments about black and female musicians. He apologized within hours.
“Jann Wenner has been removed from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation’s Board of Directors,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation said Saturday, a day after Wenner made his comments in a New York Times interview.
Winner conducted a promotional tour for his new book “The Master,” which features interviews with musicians Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, and Bruce Springsteen , Pete Townshend and U2’s Bono, all of whom are white and male.
When asked why he didn’t interview female or black musicians, Wenner responded: “It’s not that they’re not articulate, but go have a deep conversation with Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. Please be my guest. You know, Joni (Mitchell) is not a rock philosopher. In my opinion, she doesn’t live up to that standard,” he told The Times.
“Black artists — you know, Stevie Wonder, genius, right? I think when you use a word as broad as ‘master,’ the mistake is in using that word. Maybe Marvin Gaye, Or Curtis Mayfield? I mean, they’re just not at that level,” Wenner said.
Wenner apologized late Saturday through his publisher, Little Brown, saying: “In an interview with The New York Times, I made comments that disparaged the contributions, genius and impact of black and female artists. I sincerely apologize for these remarks. ”
He added: “I fully understand the inflammatory nature and incorrect choice of words and deeply apologize and accept the consequences.”
Wenner co-founded Rolling Stone magazine in 1967 and served as its editor or editorial director until 2019. He also co-founded the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which was launched in 1987.
In the interview, Winner appeared to acknowledge the backlash he would face. “For public relations reasons, maybe I should go find a black and a female artist and include them who aren’t held to the same historical standards, just to avoid that kind of criticism.”
Last year, “Rolling Stone” magazine announced the 500 greatest albums of all time, with Gay’s “What’s Going On” ranking first, Mitchell’s “Blue” ranking third, and Wonder’s “The Key to Life” Ranked fourth, “Purple Rain” by Prince and the Revolution ranked No. 8, and “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” by Ms. Lauryn Hill ranked No. 10.
Rolling Stone’s place in the magazine was the product of Wenner’s immense interest in blending authoritative music and culture coverage with hard-hitting investigative reporting.
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