Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner apologizes for disparaging Black and female artists

In interview about new book The Masters, Wenner had said no female or Black musicians ‘were as articulate’ as white performers

Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone and a co-founder of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has apologized for remarks he made disparaging Black and female artists as less intellectually articulate than their white counterparts.

The 77-year-old’s statements – made in an interview published on Friday by the New York Times in which he explained why he had included only white rock performers, whom he dubbed the “philosophers of rock”, in a book compiling his interviews – led to a unanimous vote removing Wenner from the hall of fame board.