Courtney Love blasts Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for lack of female inductees: 'Go to hell in a handbag'

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame can "go to hell in a handbag" if it doesn't find a way to be more inclusive to women and people of color, says Courtney Love.

The rocker has penned a scathing op-ed for The Guardian about the ways the organization has historically excluded inductees, noting that barely 8 percent have been female. The statistics for Black artists are no better, Love added.

"The nominations for this year's class, announced last month, offered the annual reminder of just how extraordinary a woman must be to make it into the ol' boys club," she wrote.

While this year's nominations offer a record number of women (including Kate Bush, Missy Elliott, Cyndi Lauper, and Sheryl Crow), all of them "have had to cool their jets waiting to be noticed," Love said, specifically citing the fact that Bush has been nominated four times now but has yet to be inducted. Bush — who reached a new generation of fans when Netflix hit series Stranger Things used her classic "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" in season 4 — became eligible in 2004, but she didn't make it onto the ballot until 2018, Love lamented.

Daniele Venturelli/Getty for Fendi Courtney Love

The Rock Hall also took 30-plus years to induct Nina Simone and Carole King, Love noted. The legendary Chaka Khan also "languishes" with seven nominations. "Why are women so marginalized by the Rock Hall?" A rhetorical question, as "of the 31 people on the nominating board, just nine are women," Love said, adding that the "bar is demonstrably lower for men to hop over (or slither under)."

"The Rock Hall's canon-making doesn't just reek of sexist gatekeeping, but also purposeful ignorance and hostility," Love wrote, arguing that the voting process must be overhauled. "If the Rock Hall is not willing to look at the ways it is replicating the violence of structural racism and sexism that artists face in the music industry, if it cannot properly honor what visionary women artists have created, innovated, revolutionized, and contributed to popular music — well, then let it go to hell in a handbag."

Love also posted remarks from Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde, who called the Rock Hall's induction process "total bollocks" and wrote of the establishment, "I don't even want to be associated with it."

The Hole frontwoman responded to her Friday, tweeting, "That board needs a hose-down so women and POC can feed their kids. Not just Bon Jovi."

A Tribe Called Quest, Iron Maiden, Willie Nelson, and the White Stripes are among the 2023 nominees. To be eligible for this year's ballot, artists' first single or album had to be released in 1998 or earlier. Last year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees included Dolly Parton, Pat Benatar, and Lionel Richie, among others.

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