Meg White Hears the Critics. No, She Won't Talk About It

'Elle' profiles the former White Stripes drummer, who is happy to eschew public life
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 3, 2023 2:30 PM CDT
Meg White Hears the Critics. No, She Won't Talk About It
Meg White of the White Stripes performs in 2007.   (AP PHOTO/Vince Fedoroff/CP)

Earlier this year, the name Meg White was trending on Twitter because a political reporter dissed her drumming for the defunct but iconic rock band the White Stripes. As Melissa Giannini writes in Elle, the backlash arrived quickly on behalf of the "extremely introverted" White, who disappeared from public life more than 15 years ago after several years performing with ex-husband Jack White. As a defense of her drumming, this sentiment sums things up: "Don’t get me started," says musician Kid Congo Powers. "It’s just sexist. People have been saying the whole time that her drumming was simplistic, but the band was just guitar and drums. The music they’re mining is simple music, and she’s playing it exactly right and exactly great."

As Giannini notes, this knock against Meg White has been circulating for years, with those who know music (particularly Jack White himself) calling it nonsense. What's a bit unusual here—because Meg White does not do interviews—is that Giannini was able to get her reaction to the viral moment, at least as relayed through a close friend. It "was something along the lines of 'oh, that again?'" The profile digs into the White Stripes' history, the hard-to-pin-down chemistry Meg and Jack had on stage, and how Meg inspired countless kids, especially girls, to take up drumming. Giannini fails in her quest to land an interview, though the friend "assures me that Meg is fine and that she’s human, and as such has good days and bad days." It also quotes Meg herself in an old video from a 2007 tour: "I'm quiet. What can I say?" Read the full profile. (Or read other longform stories.)

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