The Queen of Twitter couldn’t care less about joining the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Dionne Warwick, a nominee for the class of 2022, said she doesn’t give a hoot about the prestigious honor.
During Sunday night’s appearance on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live,” the Grammy Award-winning chanteuse participated in a game called “Does Dionne Give a Damn?” in which fellow guest Chris Redd (of “Saturday Night Live” fame) guessed whether Warwick gave a damn about what host Andy Cohen referred to as “pop culture items du jour.”
And while she did say she gave a damn about Will Smith winning at the Oscars, Britney Spears being free from her conservatorship and Rihanna’s pregnancy, the “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” singer shocked everyone when she revealed that being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was not for her.
Warwick said that she believes the “Rock and Roll” modifier seems like something that doesn’t apply to her.
“I’m not rock and roll,” the 81-year-old Orange, N.J., native explained. “I’ve been interviewed on this subject many times. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as I grew to know it many, many years ago was specially for rock and roll acts.”
She furthered: “I feel now, especially when I hear that Dolly Parton’s being nominated, which I am thrilled for her about, they should rename Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and call it the Music Hall of Fame, and now that they bring so many other genres into it, why not?”
Parton, also among the 17 nominees announced for inclusion last month, echoed Warwick’s sentiments when she announced Monday that she “must respectfully bow out” from consideration for the annual honor.
More than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry professionals vote to choose their top five to seven inductees each year for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the winners scheduled to be announced in May.
Warwick, who has sung various genres of music throughout a storied six-decade career, was previously nominated for induction last year.
And ironically, many of the pop and R&B music legends she referenced during the “Watch What Happens Live” appearance – most notably her peers Aretha Franklin (1989), Gladys Knight (1996, with The Pips), her mentor Frank Sinatra (1994) and her niece Whitney Houston (2020) — are past Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.
Throughout the years, the Cleveland-based museum has drawn criticism for being male-dominated and for its lack of diversity.
Within the last decade, the traditional definition of “rock music” has been stretched to include rappers such as LL Cool J, 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z, alongside singers Janet Jackson, Linda Ronstadt, Donna Summer and Laura Nyro.
Among the 17 nominees eligible for inclusion this year are Eminem, Judas Priest, A Tribe Called Quest, Rage Against the Machine, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, Kate Bush, MC5 and New York Dolls.
