Joan Jett & The Blackhearts will head out on tour with Def Leppard, Motley Crue and Poison on long-awaited The Stadium Tour this summer. There’s been plenty of news out of the Crue and Leppard camps ahead of the trek including guitarist Phil Collen commenting on the ability and shape of singer Vince Neil. Nikki Sixx has also hinted at a few setlist surprises on Twitter.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Joan Jett was asked to comment on Motley Crue and Poison and if it fazed her to be touring with bands that have been accused of misogyny in the past. “[Sexism]’s very prevalent, all over rock n’ roll,” Jett said. “Look, all I can do as the woman I am is go out there and show an alternative view and do it my way. If I had to weed out every band you thought was problematic, I mean, there wouldn’t be very many left.”
Jett was also asked if she thinks rock is less misogynistic now that it was in the ’80s. “That’s a good question,” she said. “The bands I listened to weren’t necessarily at all misogynistic, but I’m talking about guys like Fugazi. I would say [it’s] probably not as misogynistic [now], just because of their openness to getting criticized about it, because you get creamed online and people seem to care about that. That doesn’t mean that it changes who they are, so maybe that’s dangerous. It goes underground. But I think things are changing.”
Jett responded as to what advice she would give to her younger self: “To try to control my emotions a little bit better,” she said. “When I was younger, [I was] very emotional, in a sense that I would take great offense to people talking about, “Girls can’t play rock,” whatever it was. I was quick to anger, and so I would just try to be a lot more patient. And I’ve never been one to read my own press, because I figured if you believe the good stuff, you got to believe the bad stuff, too. You’re only going to find misery.. … I would definitely encourage people not to do that — not to Google yourself.”
Jett was finally asked about Dolly Parton’s inclusion in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. “I mean, they use the phrase [“rock & roll”] to pretty much describe anybody who’s big and famous, and has a following like Dolly,” she said. “But Dolly has influenced rock & rollers. So on that level, I think she absolutely deserves to be there. But I understand what she’s saying. She doesn’t feel like a rock & roller, and it feels weird to her.”
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