Rolling Stone magazine co-founder axed from Rock hall of fame board
- Jann Wenner, who co-founded the magazine in 1967, was ousted for comments blasted as racist and sexist
- On why he did not feature women and black artists in his new book, Wenner said they were not ‘articulate enough on this intellectual level’
The co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine, Jann Wenner, has been ousted from his seat on the board of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation for comments blasted as racist and sexist, US media reported on Saturday.
Wenner’s removal from the board of the foundation came only a day after his remarks were published in The New York Times, generating wide criticism.
“Jann Wenner has been removed from the board of directors of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation,” a short statement from the foundation said, according to industry sheet Variety.
The 77-year-old Wenner co-founded Rolling Stone magazine in 1967, and in subsequent decades he celebrated a multitude of rock legends in its pages in lengthy interviews.
Wenner also set up the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, which selects artists to be honoured, and served as its chairman until 2020.
In the Times report published on Friday, Wenner was asked why he did not feature any interviews with people of colour or female musicians in his new book, The Masters, now in print.
Wenner said the seven subjects in the book “were the kind of philosophers of rock” who had deep things to say about the spirit of their generation.
“These are the ones that could really articulate it,” Wenner said.