Living Colour is calling out Jann Wenner for his recent comments in The New York Times, in which he suggested Black and female artists weren’t “articulate enough” to be included in his new book, The Masters.
“The very idea of a book called The Masters‘ which blatantly omits the essential contributions of Black, people of color and women to Rock & Pop Culture speaks to a much larger and more systemic problem,” the “Cult of Personality” rockers wrote on social media. “His New York Times interview statement that African American and female artists are not ‘articulate’ enough to express themselves about their own work is absurd on its face.”
They contend the comments from Wenner, who co-founded Rolling Stone in 1967, are “an insult to those of us who sit at the feet of these overlooked geniuses.”
“To hear that he believes Stevie Wonder isn’t articulate enough to express his thoughts on any given subject is quite frankly, insulting,” they add. “To hear that Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Tina Turner, or any of the many Woman artists that he chooses not to mention, are not worthy of the status of ‘Master’, smacks of sexist gatekeeping, and exclusionary behavior.”
The band then disregards Wenner’s attempt at an apology, noting, “That his book is a reflection of his worldview suggests that it is narrow & small indeed.”
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