Jack White has issued an official response to country star Charley Crockett amid an ongoing feud over Satanic band imagery. The exchange stems from Crockett dropping the band Twin Temple from two shows, reportedly over their use of Satanic imagery, a decision that drew criticism from White.
Crockett had previously addressed the situation, disputing the reasoning behind White’s public statement and questioning the timing of his involvement.
“I never dropped that band from those [two] shows for ‘Satanic Imagery,’ they made it up and dragged me by a rope real good,” Crockett said.
“They got together with their business folks and plotted for days before finally making their public statement, designed for effect. Purposely making it look like it was a whole tour. Dog whistling about religious and creative freedom. Of course my rights didn’t matter since they had a new record coming out and a headline tour to announce.”
Crockett then suggested White’s motives were tied to promotion. He noted White’s past silence on political matters during his time in The White Stripes.
“He used it to sell tickets too and I lost a lot of respect for him,” Crockett said.
“I wonder why he wasn’t so outspoken back when he was in The White Stripes 20-something years ago. They purposely avoided political issues. Maybe he was worried about losing audience back when it was all on the line and he needed all the help he could get.”
Jack White then responded directly to Crockett’s accusations, choosing an unconventional format for his rebuttal by sharing the full lyrics to the 1984 novelty rap song “Rappin’ Duke.”
“I never said nothing about this young buck before but since he’s trying to drag me into this here rodeo again, here’s my official response to Cowboy Charley’s accusations,” White said, before continuing with the lyrics of “Rappin’ Duke,” a song in which artist Shawn Brown impersonates Western film star John Wayne through a rap delivery.
