History was never as straight as we are told. Recording our history means reporting and preserving the truth.
Jann Simon Wenner (born January 7, 1946) is an American businessman who is a co-founder of the popular culture magazine Rolling Stone, and former owner of Men's Journal magazine. He participated in the Free Speech Movement while attending the University of California, Berkeley. Wenner, with his mentor Ralph J. Gleason, founded Rolling Stone in 1967.
Later in his career, Wenner co-founded the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and founded other publications. As a publisher and media figure, he has faced controversy regarding Hall of Fame eligibility favoritism, the breakdown of his relationship with gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, and criticism that his magazine's reviews were biased.
His journey took him from becoming very close with Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Wolfe, Annie Leibovitz, The Dalai Lama, to the Oval Office with his legendary interviews of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, leaders to whom Rolling Stone gave its historic, full-throated backing.
In the summer of 1967, after Rolling Stone was founded, Wenner and Jane Schindelheim were married in a small Jewish ceremony. Wenner and his wife separated in 1995, though Jane Wenner still remains a vice president of Wenner Media. She and Wenner have three sons. One of them, Edward Augustus (Gus), was made head of Wenner Media's digital operations in 2014.
Since 1995, Wenner's domestic partner has been Matt Nye, a fashion designer. Wenner and Nye have three children born via surrogate mothers.
After the news broke, Wenner dealt with mixed responses from friends — many of whom felt bad for Jane. That didn’t stop him from wanting to show off his boyfriend.
“[Matt Nye] was an object of desire for Wenner, a walking, talking status symbol among his friends,” Hagan writes. “He had finally got the girl he desired and she was a man.”
Jane, in contrast, continued to swim in denial and refused to give up on their relationship. They stayed married for another 17 years.
“The contradiction of Jann’s life is that he was mastering a hetero rock and roll world while a closeted gay man. And that defined a lot,” Hagan told Billboard. “Jann had a great power to compartmentalize. He could live life as a straight man while being gay secretly. He could be a righteous magazine editor while also collecting the cash as the publisher. He could … be friends with somebody one day, then stick a knife in them the next.” His 554 pages autobiography "Like a Rolling Stone" was released in 2022.
RELATED
