cnn
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Jann Wenner, The Rolling Stone magazine co-founder was removed from the board of directors of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation after facing widespread criticism for comments he made in a New York Times. interview published on Friday about female and black musicians.
“Jann Wenner has been removed from the board of directors of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation,” a representative for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation told CNN in a statement on Sunday.
Wenner spoke to the Times about his upcoming book “The Masters,” which includes interviews he conducted with artists such as John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger and others while he was at the helm of Rolling Stone.
In the interview, she discussed her decision not to include interviews with women and black artists, and her comments on the topic were widely criticized.
“People had to meet a couple of criteria, but it was simply my personal interest and my love for them,” she said, adding: “As for the women, none of them were articulate enough on this intellectual level.”
He continued: “Stevie Wonder, genius, right? I guess when you use a word as broad as “teachers,” the mistake is using that word. Maybe Marvin Gaye or Curtis Mayfield? I mean, they just weren’t articulate on that level.”
“For the sake of public relations, maybe I should have looked for a black artist and a woman to include here who weren’t up to the same historical standard, just to avoid this kind of criticism,” he told the outlet. “Maybe I’m old-fashioned and don’t give a damn or whatever. I wish, in retrospect, I could have interviewed Marvin Gaye. Maybe he would have been the guy. Maybe Otis Redding, if he had lived, would have been the one.”
On Saturday, Wenner issued a statement through Little, Brown and Company, publisher of “The Masters,” saying: “In my interview with The New York Times I made comments that diminished the contributions, genius and impact of black artists. and women and I apologize with all my heart for those comments.”
“’The Masters’ is a collection of interviews I’ve done over the years that I felt best represented the idea of rock ‘n’ roll’s impact on my world; They were not intended to represent all music and its diverse and important creators, but rather to reflect the high points of my career, and the interviews I felt illustrated the breadth and experience of that career. They do not reflect my appreciation and admiration for countless totemic and world-changing artists whose music and ideas I revere and will celebrate and promote as long as I live. “I fully understand the inflammatory nature of poorly chosen words and I deeply apologize and accept the consequences.”
CNN has contacted Little, Brown and Company for comment.
Wenner founded Rolling Stone magazine with music critic Ralph J. Gleason in 1967 and launched the legendary rock magazine in 2017. It was installed in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as an individual in 2004, and is a co-founder from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.
“The Masters” is scheduled to be released on September 26.