Chrissie Hynde blasts Rock n Roll Hall of Fame

Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders blasts the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. Hynde and her band The Pretenders were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. In a recent post on her social media pages, Hynde expressed she wants nothing to do with it anymore.

“If anyone wants my position in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, they are welcome to it. I don’t even wanna be associated with it,” she wrote. “It’s just more establishment backslapping. I got in a band so I didn’t have to be part of all that.”

She explained the detail how she felt when she found out about the induction.

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“I was living a happy life in Rio when I got the call I was being inducted,” recalled Hynde. “My heart sank because I knew I’d have to go back for it as it would be too much of a kick in the teeth to my parents if I didn’t. I’d upset them enough by then, so it was one of those things that would bail me out from years of disappointing them (like moving out of the U.S.A. and being arrested at PETA protests and my general personality). Other than Neil Young’s participation in the induction process, the whole thing was, and is, total bollocks.” She ended her post by saying the Hall has “absolutely nothing to do with rock ‘n’ roll and anyone who thinks it is is a fool.”

Hynde isn't the first musician to blast the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. Courtney Love told The Guardian Rock Hall promotes "sexist gatekeeping" She stated only 8.48% of inductees are women. She said “If so few women are being inducted into the Rock Hall, then the nominating committee is broken. If so few Black artists, so few women of color, are being inducted, then the voting process needs to be overhauled,” She wrote. “Music is a life force that is constantly evolving – and they can’t keep up.”

The Rock n' Roll Hall of fame has not yet commented on the posts by Chrissie Hynde.