“You know, just for the sake of publicity,” he added, “maybe I should have found a black artist and a female artist who didn’t meet that historical standard, just to avert that kind of criticism.” Which I understand. I had the chance to do it. Maybe I’m old fashioned and don’t care [expletive] or what ever.”
These comments sparked immediate fire on social media. Just as quickly, alarmed phone calls and emails circulated among the 31 board members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, which includes music and media executives, financial players and star artists such as Pharrell Williams and LL Cool J. The foundation, founded in 1983, selects the artists to be included and is affiliated with the museum in Cleveland.)
“Your words risk undermining the very institution you helped build by promoting a narrative that is not only narrow but exclusionary,” said Troy Carter, a former Spotify executive and adviser to the Prince estate Wenner said in an email to board members obtained by The Times.
Interviews with four people with direct knowledge of the board vote, who spoke anonymously because the board’s deliberations are confidential, paint a picture of urgency and anger within the institution.
While board members were personally appalled by Wenner’s comments, they also worried about the impact on the hall itself and its important relationships with artists – some of whom had already begun to complain. A letter came from Bernie Taupin, Elton John’s longtime songwriting partner, who will accept the Musical Excellence Award at this year’s ceremony on November 3 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Heather Taupin, his wife and manager, sent an email to the arena management in which she called Wenner’s comments a “slap in the face” to the newcomers and added: “We strongly believe that he should resign immediately.”
Although the hall oversees the vote to select winners, delicate diplomacy often takes place behind the scenes to ensure artists accept the honor and appear on the annual introductory TV show. This year’s honorees include Kate Bush, Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Rage Against the Machine, the Spinners and George Michael, who died in 2016.