Musician Jack White is attempting to bury the hatchet with The Black Keys — or at least start digging — following negative comments he made about the guitar-and-drums duo and their long-standing feud.
The so-called beef between White and The Black Keys might have begun after a series of emails were leaked to TMZ last year in the middle of White's divorce from ex-wife Karen Elson. (Via Island Records / Jack White)
In the emails, White reportedly refers to Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach as an [expletive] and a copy cat and says he doesn't want to have to deal with him while their children are enrolled at the same school.
The Black Keys' drummer, Patrick Carney, told Rolling Stone while he thought the emails were pretty messed up, he felt embarrassed for White. "I don't hold grudges, man. I really don't. We've all said [messed-up stuff] in private, and divorce is hard."
Carney did put some blame on TMZ, though, saying he thought White's private remarks shouldn't have been made public. But White wasn't quite done yet.
In the most recent issue of Rolling Stone, White elaborated on those infamous emails, saying, "There are kids at school who dress like everybody else, because they don't know what to do, and there are musicians like that, too. I'll hear TV commercials where the music's ripping off sounds of mine, to the point I think it's me. Half the time, it's The Black Keys." Burn.
Wait, there's more! White also threw Duffy, Lana Del Ray and Adele under the bus, insinuating they wouldn't have made it big without Amy Winehouse. He even left a little something for his former White Stripes bandmate and other ex-wife Meg White, calling her a "hermit." (Via Columbia Records / Amy Winehouse, Flickr / pixxiestails)
Naturally, there was a lot of explaining to do, and White took to his personal website to get it done.
The letter's pretty long, but in it, he said he felt forced to talk about his private-turned-public opinions and said he wishes nothing but the best for The Black Keys and the other artists he might have offended. He ended the letter with this: "God bless the Black Keys, Danger Mouse, Adele, Meg White, and anyone else I've spoken about, and thank you for understanding. Good fortune to all of them, and I’m sorry for my statements hurting anyone."
The subjects of White's apology have yet to respond.
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