Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Rolling Stone Disowns Founder, Buries Apology for Jann Wenner’s Statements About Female, Black Artists on Twitter X

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Rolling Stone has disowned founder Jann Wenner.

They buried a statement around 1pm today on Twitter X. It’s barely there, it’s not on other social media or on the website.

It’s a sad end to Wenner’s 50 years in publishing. The new RS says:

“Jann Wenner’s recent statements to the New York Times do not represent the values and practices of today’s Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner has not been directly involved in our operations since 2019. Our purpose, especially since his departure, has been to tell stories that reflect the diversity of voices and experiences that shape our world. At Rolling Stone’s core is the understanding that music above all can bring us together, not divide us.”

Wenner’s comments in the New York Times that Black and female artists weren’t worthy of inclusion in his book, “The Masters,” set off a fire storm. Five decades of racism and misogyny just burst out of his mouth. He tried to apologize but no one bought it. Now the magazine he founded– edited by his son — has to distance it self from him.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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