Rolling Stone Creator Dropped from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for Racist Remarks

(AmericanProsperity.com) – Rolling Stone’s co-founder Jann Wenner was dropped from the board of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on September 16, after he made about black music artists that are being described as racist and sexist. He made the remarks during an interview with the New York Times about his latest book “The Masters,” where he wrote a profile of seven musicians who he considered the “philosophers of rock.” These were Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Bruce Springsteen, Bono and Pete Townshend.

When asked about the lack of diversity and why the seven musicians he decided to write about were “white male artists,” Wenner said that no female or black artists were sufficiently “articulate” to be included. He then noted it wasn’t that he didn’t consider any black male or female artist to be “creative geniuses,” but “the fact” that none of them were “articulate enough on this intellectual level.” The former Rolling Stone co-founder also pointed out that he picked these seven artists because they could “articulate their philosophy.”

When asked about legendary black artists such as Curtis Mayfield or Marvin Gaye, Wenner agreed they were extraordinary musicians, but claimed that they never managed to articulate “at that level.” About female black artists, he said that none of them can be considered “inarticulate,” but can’t be compared with white artists like Janis Joplin or Grace Slick.

Wenner explained that his final selection wasn’t deliberate and said it “fell together that way.” However, he did recognize that while the people who could be included in his book had to meet “a couple” criteria,” it was finally a matter of his “personal interest” and love for those artists.

Following the interview, the foundation published a short statement where it announced it decided to remove Wenner from the board of directors. He eventually apologized and said he recognized that his remarks had “badly chosen words,” adding he should have included a black or female artist.