Rolling Stone editor Jan Wenner has been removed from the board of directors of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation for sexist and racist comments in an interview with The New York Times. Variety reports this.
Wenner said black female performers and musicians were “not expressing themselves at the same level” as white men. The editor later apologized for his “comments that disparaged the contributions, genius, and influence of black and female artists.”
In the interview that led to his ouster, Wenner said: “I mean, they just couldn’t express themselves on the same level. Look at what Pete Townshend or Mick Jagger wrote: they were profound things about a certain generation, a special spirit and a special attitude towards rock and roll. It’s not that the others weren’t like that, but they were the ones who knew how to articulate it.”
Shortly before the apology, Times writer Dave Marchese asked Wenner why there were no black female musicians or performers in his new book, “The Masters.” Contains interviews with white musicians Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend and Bono of U2 and others.
In the interview, Wenner also discussed Rolling Stone’s editorial policies. He admitted that he allowed his interlocutors to edit transcripts of their interviews with him before their publication, including a high-profile 1970 interview with John Lennon. Wenner is a founding member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inaugurated in 1987, and served as its president until 2020.
Rolling Stone previously published a ranking of the best songs of 2022. The list also includes songs by Megan Thee Stallion, Noah Cyrus and Ozzy Osbourne. We talk in more detail here.
