Jack White won’t hear any Meg White slander.
This week, Twitter was engulfed in discussion about The White Stripes and Meg’s talent as a drummer, with some very harsh comments directed at her.
Responding to a piece celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band’s song “Seven Nation Army”, journalist Lachlan Markay kicked up controversy.
“The tragedy of the White Stripes is how great they would’ve been with a half decent drummer,” he wrote in a now-deleted tweet. “Yeah yeah I’ve heard all the ‘but it’s a carefully crafted sound mannnn!’ takes. I’m sorry Meg White was terrible and no band is better for having shitty percussion.”
The tweet prompted many defences of Meg’s abilities, including from other musicians, like Questlove.
I try to leave “troll views” alone but this right here is out of line af. Actually what is wrong w music is people choking the life out of music like an Instagram filter—-trying to reach a high of music perfection that doesn’t even serve the song (or music) pic.twitter.com/hCj43qNpcG
— Plug 5. (@questlove) March 14, 2023
Karen Elson, who Jack married after he and Meg split, also came to her defence in a tweet, calling her a “fantastic drummer.”
Not only is Meg White a fantastic drummer, Jack also said the White Stripes would be nothing without her. To the journalist who dissed her, keep my ex husband’s ex wife name out of your f*cking mouth.
(Please and Thank You) https://t.co/qnnxgT3Rxh— Karen Elson (@KarenElson_) March 14, 2023
On Wednesday, Jack took to Instagram to defend Meg himself, penning a poem in tribute to his ex-wife and former bandmate.
“To have bliss upon bliss upon bliss/to be without fear, negativity or pain/and to get up every morning, and be happy to do it all again,” the poem reads.
Meg is soon to become the third woman drummer inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of The White Stripes.
Markay, meanwhile, tweeted out an apology for her comments about the musician, writing, “It was an over-the-top take on TWS and White as a drummer, and was, let’s face it, just truly awful in every way. Petty, obnoxious, just plain wrong.”
He added, “I don’t know if Meg White herself saw that tweet. I hope not, because I imagine it wouldn’t feel great to see a stranger dumping on you like that. So to Meg White: I am sorry. Really. And to women in the music business generally, who I think are disproportionately subject to this sort of shit, I am sorry to have fed that as well. I’m really going to try to be more thoughtful in the future, both on here and off.”
© 2023 Entertainment Tonight Canada, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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