White Stripes drummer Meg White now lives a quiet life in Detroit, having not been seen in public for nearly 14 years since she attended a September 2009 Toronto International Film Festival event with her ex-husband turned bandmate Jack White.
In February, the reclusive 48-year-old and the prolific 47-year-old’s garage band scored an official nomination to be included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but unfortunately they were not voted into the Class of 2023.
The press surrounding the nod led to a (since deleted) tweet from ex-journalist Lachlan Markay on March 13, in which he taunted Meg’s performances as “terrible” and “s****y” and mused on how “the tragedy of the White Stripes is how great they would have been with a fairly decent drummer.’
On March 15, Jack responded to Markay’s claim with a Instagram photo of White playing her signature peppermint-twirled drum next to a poem about having no regrets as she shouts “demons, cowards, and vampires out for blood.”
White (née Gillis) took — and kept — the surname of the four-time Grammy winner famously after their 1996 wedding, and he told Rolling stone in 2014 of her recluse character: ‘All the not talking didn’t matter, because on stage? Nothing I do will surpass that.’
Where is she? The White Stripes drummer Meg White (L) now leads a quiet life in Detroit. She hasn’t been seen in public in nearly 14 years since she attended a Toronto International Film Festival event with her ex-husband turned bandmate Jack White (R) in September 2009
Back in the spotlight: In February, the reclusive 48-year-old and the prolific 47-year-old’s garage band scored an official nomination to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but unfortunately were not voted into the 2023 class
And the 12-time Grammy winner wasn’t the only one to defend Meg, as his ex-wife #2 Karen Elson, six-time Grammy winner Questlove, Amanda Palmer, Ben Lee, and Grammy nominee Margo Price all took to Twitter to praise her. .
“Meg White is not only a fantastic drummer, Jack also said The White Stripes would be nothing without her,” says the British 44-year-old wrote.
“To the journalist who dissed her, keep the name of my ex-husband’s ex-wife out of your mouth. (Please and thank you).’
The Roots drummer tweeted: ‘I’m trying to leave “troll views” alone, but this isn’t right here. What’s actually wrong with music is that people are choking the life out of music like an Instagram filter – trying to reach a pinnacle of music perfection that doesn’t even serve the song (or the music). This is why I walk that Dilla path and play like a drunk sloppy amateur, because that flaw is the human element in music that is missing. Real movie > IG filter photo.’
Palmer tweeted: “If Meg had been a man, her sound would have been praised as “stripped down, distinctive and powerful.” One day.’
Lee wrote: ‘If you call Meg White bad, you fundamentally misunderstand what makes music good.’
And price rang in: ‘Meg White inspired me to get behind the drum stool and pick up the sticks. Her style and the White Stripes music was a breath of fresh air compared to most things going on at the time. Anyone who fucking talks her wouldn’t know rock ‘n’ roll if it bit the a**.”
Through an unnamed girlfriend, White — who suffers from acute anxiety — responded to going viral in the June-July issue of ELLE: “Her response was something along the lines of “Oh, that again?”
‘The tragedy of the White Stripes is how great they would have been with a half-decent drummer’: The press surrounding the kink led to a (since deleted) tweet on March 13 from ex-journalist Lachlan Markay where he blasted Meg’s performances as ‘terrible’ and ‘s****y’
‘Happy to do it all again’: On March 15, Jack responded to Markay’s claim with an Instagram snap of White playing her signature peppermint-tipped drum alongside a poem about having no regrets as he ‘demons, cowards and vampires exclaims’. blood’
White (née Gillis) took — and kept — the surname of the four-time Grammy winner famously after their 1996 wedding, and he told Rolling Stone in 2014 of her hermit nature: “All the not talking didn’t matter, because on stage ? Nothing I do will surpass that’ (pictured in 2007)
‘Meg White a fantastic drummer’: And the 12-time Grammy winner wasn’t the only one to defend Meg as his ex-wife #2 Karen Elson, six-time Grammy winner Questlove, Amanda Palmer, Ben Lee and Grammy nominee Margo Price went all to Twitter to praise her
Through an unnamed friend, White – who suffers from acute anxiety – responded to the June-July issue of ELLE going viral: “Her response was something along the lines of ‘Oh, that again?”‘
The insider added: “She has been traveling and touring and playing for 15 years. It’s not that strange to think she just likes to be home’
Curtain call: The White Stripes officially broke up in 2011 – two years after their last performance with their 2002 song We’re Going to Be Friends on the final episode of NBC’s Late Night With Conan O’Brien in February 2009
Still putting stuff out! On April 21, in celebration of their 20th anniversary, The White Stripes released a limited two-disc LP of Elephant
In stores from October 3! Fans of the red, white and black hued duo can purchase the 300-plus page book The White Stripes Complete Lyrics featuring never-before-seen and rare photos
“She has traveled, toured and played for 15 years. It’s not too strange to think she just likes to be home,” the insider added.
The White Stripes officially broke up in 2011 – two years after their last performance with their 2002 song We’re Going to Be Friends on the final episode of NBC’s Late Night With Conan O’Brien in February 2009.
On April 21, The White Stripes released a limited two-disc LP of Elephant in celebration of their 20th anniversary.
Fans of the red, white, and black hued duo can purchase the 300-plus page book The White Stripes Complete Lyrics, featuring never-before-seen and rare photos, on shelves October 3.