Thursday, May 21, 2026

The Who Fire Zak Starkey a Second Time After Pete Townshend Reinstated Him: He Won’t Get Fooled Again!

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A few weeks ago, drummer Zak Starkey — Ringo Starr’s 59 year old son — was fired by The Who after almost 30 years.

Roger Daltrey did the job, sparking outrage. Then Pete Townshend intervened, and Zak was reinstated.

But now Zak says he’s out for good. He won’t get fooled again. You better you bet on it. He’s had enough.

All this takes place as The Who plan their farewell tour of North America. All this infighting is really childish for two 80 year old men. They’re whittling down my interest in seeing them.

Beatles fans will be angry. Sean Ono Lennon wrote under Zak’s statement: “Without Zak, who’s the who?”

I don’t know if Ringo was ever friendly with these guys, but he has to be livid at this point.

It’s sad to see The Who go out this way. But Zak can see for miles and miles by now.

One more joke: Now The Who need a SUBSTITUTE!

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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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