Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner removed from BOD

18/9/2023 6:11

        Rolling Stone magazine
        co-founder Jann Wenner was removed from his position on the Rock
        & Roll Hall of Fame's board of directors after comments he made
        about Black and female artists that were widely criticized, the
        hall said in a statement.
        
        In a terse statement, the Cleveland-based Hall of Fame
        offered no reason for its move, saying, "Jann Wenner has been
        removed from the Board of Directors of the Rock & Roll Hall of
        Fame Foundation."
        
        In an interview with the New York Times published on Friday
        about his upcoming book titled "The Masters," which consists of
        seven interviews Wenner did over his career with musicians
        including Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan, he was pressed on why all
        seven interviews in the book were with white men.
        
        Wenner, 77, said Black and female musicians were not "as
        articulate" as the others he chose to profile.
        
        "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, just to avert this
        kind of criticism," Wenner, who also co-founded the Rock & Roll
        Hall of Fame, said.
        
        He later apologized for the remarks. Wenner could not
        immediately be reached for comment on his removal.