Jann Wenner Removed From Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation Board

Rolling Stone and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame co-founder Jann Wenner was removed from the board of directors of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation following comments he made in an interview with The New York Times saying that Black and female musicians weren't as "articulate" as the white male musicians featured in his new book.

Quoted: Wenner was promoting his book The Masters, which features interviews with Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen and others. When asked about how he chose which musicians to feature, Wenner responded, "When I was referring to the zeitgeist, I was referring to Black performers, not to the female performers, OK?" he said, calling his selection "intuitive." "The people had to meet a couple criteria, but it was just kind of my personal interest and love of them. Insofar as the women, just none of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level."

After reporter David Marchese mentioned Joni Mitchell, Wenner opined that Mitchell "was not a philosopher of rock ’n’ roll" and replied, "It’s not that they’re not creative geniuses. It’s not that they’re inarticulate, although, go have a deep conversation with Grace Slick or Janis Joplin... Of Black artists — you know, Stevie Wonder, genius, right? I suppose when you use a word as broad as ‘masters,’ the fault is using that word. Maybe Marvin Gaye, or Curtis Mayfield? I mean, they just didn’t articulate at that level."

Wenner added that "for public relations sake, maybe I should have gone and found one Black and one woman artist to include here that didn’t measure up to that same historical standard."

What they're saying: After the interview was published, Wenner's comments received criticism and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame issued a brief statement announcing his removal on Saturday. Shortly after, Wenner issued an apology through his publisher, Little, Brown and Company, saying that he "made comments that diminished the contributions, genius and impact of Black and women artists and I apologize wholeheartedly for those remarks."

He added that rather than "represent the whole of music and its diverse and important originators," The Masters was meant to "reflect the high points of my career." He concluded, "I totally understand the inflammatory nature of badly chosen words and deeply apologize and accept the consequences."