Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner removed from Rock & Roll Hall of Fame board

[September 18, 2023]  By Hannah Lang
 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - 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.  

Wenner, co-founder and publisher of Rolling Stone magazine, speaks at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony - Show – New York City, U.S., 07/04/2017 – Publisher Jann Wenner. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

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.

(Reporting by Hannah Lang in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Sandra Maler)

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