Joan Jett on Touring With Sexist Bands Like Mötley Crüe: “All I Can Do Is Go Out There and Show an Alternative View”
Next month, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will head out on a massive stadium tour with Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, and Poison. Given Joan’s outspoken feminism over the years, one might wonder why she’s going to be touring with bands like the Crüe, whose music, one could argue, objectifies women to a considerable degree. And in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Jett has confronted this issue, saying that while she can’t totally change the world, she can do what she can to show young rock fans that it doesn’t have to be that way.
When her interviewer asks whether or not Mötley and Poison’s perceived misogyny fazes Jett at all, Joan responded with the following:
“[Sexism]’s very prevalent, all over rock & roll. 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. And I think everyone’s being a little … Chill out, it’s music.”
…huh. I get where Joan’s coming from, but the whole it’s-just-music-calm-down thing always comes off as wack to me. If that’s the case, why does Joan’s message really matter? That take always feels like an easy out of having to answer some tough questions.
When asked whether or not Joan felt music in the ’80s was more misogynistic than it is now, she said the following:
“That’s a good question. 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.”
There you go. Catch Joan offering a different take at one of the following dates:
6/16 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Truist Park [tickets]
6/18 – Miami, Fla. @ Hard Rock Stadium [tickets]
6/19 – Orlando, Fla. @ Camping World Stadium [tickets]
6/22 – Washington, D.C. @ Nationals Park [tickets]
6/24 – Queens, N.Y. @ Citi Field [tickets]
6/25 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Citizens Bank Park [tickets]
6/28 – Charlotte, N.C. @ BofA Stadium [tickets]
6/30 – Nashville, Tenn. @ Nissan Stadium [tickets]
7/2 – Jacksonville, Fla. @ TIAA Bank Field [tickets]
7/5 – St. Louis, Mo. @ Busch Stadium [tickets]
7/8 – Chicago, Ill @ Wrigley Field [tickets]
7/10 – Detroit, Mich. @ Comerica Park [tickets]
7/12 – Hershey, Pa. @ Hersheypark Stadium [tickets]
7/14 – Cleveland, Ohio @ FirstEnergy Stadium [tickets]
7/15 – Cincinnati, Ohio @ Great American Park [tickets]
7/17 – Milwaukee, Wis. @ American Family Field [tickets]
7/19 – Kansas City, Mo. @ Kauffman Stadium [tickets]
7/21 – Denver, Colo. @ Coors Field [tickets]
8/5 – Boston, Mass. @ Fenway Park [tickets]
8/6 – Boston, Mass. @ Fenway Park [tickets]
8/8 – Toronto, Ontario @ Rogers Centre [tickets]
8/10 – Orchard Park, N.Y. @ Highmark Stadium [tickets]
8/12 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ PNC Park [tickets]
8/14 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ U.S. Bank Stadium [tickets]
8/16 – Indianapolis, Ind. @ Lucas Oil Stadium [tickets]
8/19 – Houston, Texas @ Minute Maid Park [tickets]
8/21 – San Antonio, Texas @ Alamodome [tickets]
8/22 – Arlington, Texas @ Globe Life Field [tickets]
8/25 – Glendale, Ariz. @ State Farm Stadium [tickets]
8/27 – Inglewood, Calif. @ SoFi Stadium [tickets]
8/28 – San Diego, Calif. @ Petco Park [tickets]
8/31 – Seattle, Wash. @ T-Mobile Park [tickets]
9/2 – Vancouver, B.C. @ BC Place
9/4 – Edmonton, Alberta @ Commonwealth Stad [tickets]
9/7 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Oracle Park [tickets]
9/9 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ Allegiant Stadium [tickets]
