The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has removed Rolling Stone magazine co-founder Jann Wenner from its board of directors after Wenner claimed Black and women icons, including Marvin Gaye and Joni Mitchell, were not articulate enough to be featured in his new book titled “The Masters,” in which he profiles seven rock musicians — all white men. Wenner made the comment in an interview with The New York Times.

Jann Wenner: “It’s not that they’re not creative geniuses. It’s not that they’re inarticulate, although go and have a deep conversation with Grace Slick or Janis. Please, be my guest. Or Cass Elliot, wonderful person, you know? Joni was not a philosopher of rock 'n' roll. She didn’t, in my mind, meet that test, not by her work, not by any of the interviews she did. Maybe Marvin Gaye. I could cut Curtis Mayfield or — I mean, they just didn’t articulate at that level.”

Jann Wenner later apologized for his remarks. He has faced criticism for decades over how Rolling Stone wrote about Black and women musicians.