This past week has seen an interesting back-and-forth between Ted Nugent and Joan Jett. If you’re confused as to who said what and how this drama all got started, we’ve assembled a brief timeline of this whole war of words.
December 30, 2021
During a YouTube livestream on December 30, 2021, Nugent brings up a a 2003 list from Rolling Stone Senior Editor David Fricke on the 100 greatest guitarists of all time and takes issue with Jett being included on the list.
Nugent begins his rant by praising a number of guitarists from Angus Young to Neal Schol to Tommy Shaw to Eddie Van Halen. Then he says, “So I just mentioned some killer, monster guitar players, huh? Some of the best that ever lived. But when you see the ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine list of greatest guitar players, they list Joan Jett but not Tommy Shaw.”
Nugent continues, “How do you list the top 100 guitar players and not list Derek St. Holmes? How do you do that? You do that by lying. The same way you get Grandmaster Flash in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. You do that by lying. You have to be a liar. You have to have s— for brains and you have to be a soulless, soulless prick to put Joan Jett… [I] love Joan. Some of my greatest memories include lesbians. I love the lesbians; it’s a cocktail of wonderment.”
He adds, “[I] love Joan Jett — ‘put another diamond in the jukebox, baby’; great rock and roller — but as a top 100 guitar player, but you don’t list Rickey Medlocke or Dave Amato [REO Speedwagon]. Really?…By the way, if Grandmaster Flash is in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and Joan Jett is on the list of top 100 guitar players, then I’m Caitlyn Jenner’s boy toy.”
May 3, 2022
In a new interview with NME, Nugent’s comments about how she didn’t belong on Rolling Stone‘s greatest guitarists list were brought up. Jett responded,
“Neither should he. Is that his implication that he should be on the list instead of me? Well, that’s just typical – it’s what I’ve dealt with my whole life, being written off. Ted Nugent has to live with being Ted Nugent. He has to be in that body, so that’s punishment enough.”
She continued, referring to claims he evaded the draft during the Vietnam War, “He’s not a tough guy. He plays tough guy, but this is the guy who s— his pants – literally – so he didn’t have to go in the Army…So this is the tough guy who’s running around America, stirring things up against each other?”
May 4, 2022
Nugent responded to Jett’s comments in a YouTube livestream where he says, in part, the following:
“I’m talking about top 100 guitar player list in ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine, and I mention that Joan Jett…I love Joan Jett and I mention how I love Joan Jett. I love her music! she’s the Real McCoy, down-and-dirty garage band. Joan, I love you! It’s real rock and roll. It’s awesome. Plus, I love lesbians. I think it’s cool. So, I praised her and I saluted her. I just said that Mark Farner should be on the list before Joan Jett because Joan Jett’s not a real fiery guitar player…
…I said nothing but nice things about her. But, Joan Jett can’t be on the Top 100 Guitar Players [list] before Rik Emmett of Triumph. She just can’t be, and Joni Mitchell’s on the Top 100 Guitar Players [list] on ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine, but not Derek St. Holmes, not Ricky Medlocke, not John Sykes, not Chris Duarte, not Jimmy McCarty.
I never mentioned me! Let’s pretend I play keyboards. [Laughs] I never said I should be on the list! I just said there’s a lot of killer guitar players that are really killer guitar players, and Joan’s just a good guitar player. She makes great music. It’s not as adventurous as I like, but she’ awesome! So, then she got wind of it and viciously attacked me personally, [saying] that I was jealous because I was not on it. I never mentioned I should be on it…
…With all due respect, Joan. I love you. I said I love her, but she’s on the greatest guitar player list, but Derek St. Holmes isn’t, Ricky Medlocke isn’t, Mark Farner isn’t. Jimmy McCarty’s not on the list, but Joni Mitchell is? I love you, Joni; for those who love folk music, you are the best. I love you! I’m not jealous that I’m not on, it’s just let’s be honest! How about some honesty?!”
May 5, 2022
Nugent addresses this whole situation in another YouTube livestream saying, in part, “All I expressed in an interview on WRIF was how I love Joan and her killer rocking band. She’s got a great rocking band. Great songs. The best garage band maybe ever, except for maybe Green Day. [I] love Joan — all I said is how I love her. But I used her as an example — along with Joni Mitchell. [I] love Joni Mitchell… People love that music. People love Joan Jett and Joni Mitchell. I love them. I expressed I love them. But she can’t be in the top 100 guitar player list — either of them. They play nice strumming guitars; they play nice guitars. I like it. They’re good. But top 100 before Rik Emmett of Triumph? That’s a lie.”
[NOTE: Nugent seems to misattribute his original comments to an interview he gave to WRIF, when then actually came from his own YouTube livestream on December 30, 2021. His most recent interview with WRIF — a chat on the April 27, 2022 episode of Talkin’ Rock with Meltdown — doesn’t feature any mention of Jett.]
Nugent added, “Joan Jett, I love you. Don’t get all upset. She calls me a racist and [says] I’m jealous. I didn’t even mention that I should be on the list. Let’s pretend that I don’t play guitar. Let’s pretend I’m just a keyboard player, or maybe a gay conga player. I never mentioned my name [as being excluded from] the top 100 guitar list — though someone might. But Joan, would you just relax? Maybe the plastic [surgery] has gone to her brain. I don’t know. I just didn’t think she was that stupid. I never said anything about how stupid she was. I didn’t think she was stupid; now we know how stupid she is.”
