Courtney Love is calling out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for its lack of female representation.
In a message posted to Instagram this week, the musician wrote: “So over these ole boys”, along with the hashtag, #fixtherockandrollhalloffame.” She was captioning a tweet from author Jessica Hopper who revealed only 61 out of 719 inductees in the Hall of Fame’s 40 year history are women which equates to 8.48%. This is, according to Hopper’s maths, “worse than women-artists-on-country-radio numbers (10%) and women headliners at major music festivals (13%).”
Dismal numbers, though not surprising, are they?
“Thanks so much @missjesshopp I’ve been begging someone to do this math for decades,” Courtney added.
View this post on Instagram
Interestingly, Courtney also shared what appears to be a text message to Dave Grohl who’s been inducted into the Hall of Fame twice during his career, once with Nirvana and again with the Foo Fighters.
“Have fun at rock hall Dave. Make sure and hold the seats of Tina Turner & Carole King, both who have been eligible for 30! Years each!”
Courtney is presumably referring to the fact that Tina and Carole, clearly accomplished in their careers and legends of the music scene for decades, were only inducted as solo artists in 2021, 30 years after they became eligible for nomination.
Other women who’ve been inducted in the past include Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett, Pat Benatar and The Supremes.
Six women have been nominated for the honour this year including Sheryl Crow, Cyndi Lauper, Kate Bush, Gillian Gilbert (with New Order), Meg White (with the White Stripes) and Missy Elliot who is the first female rap artist in history to receive a nomination. The male nominees include a Tribe Called Quest, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Soundgarden and more.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will announce the top 5 nominees in April based on public votes (you can VOTE HERE!) and announce the overall winner (chosen by a selection committee) in May.
(Feature Image Credit: Joe Seer/Shutterstock)