Charley Crockett Breaks Silence on Twin Temple Tour Boot, Calls Out Jack White
Charley Crockett has finally spoken publicly about dropping the Satanic doo-wop duo Twin Temple from his tour, and he used the moment to go after Jack White as well.
In a since-deleted Instagram post on 18 August, Crockett shared his version of events. He said Twin Temple "made it up and dragged me by a rope real good" regarding their claim that he removed them from tour dates over their Satanic imagery, according to a statement reported by Rolling Stone and cited by Billboard. A spokesperson for Crockett added a more colourful line: "I thought they were like Black Sabbath, but they ain't. Not today, Satan."
Twin Temple, the Los Angeles-based duo of Alexandra and Zachary James, had said in early July that Crockett removed them from his upcoming shows "due to our Satanic imagery," as Billboard reported on 10 July. They were dropped from two dates on the tour (USA Today).
After the controversy surfaced, Jack White invited Twin Temple to open some of his own shows (Billboard). Crockett was not impressed. He said White "used it to sell tickets too and I lost a lot of respect for him." He went further, saying White "wasn't so outspoken" during his White Stripes era and was "worried about losing audience back when it was all on the line."
That characterisation is at odds with White's track record. The White Stripes released the Grammy-winning "Icky Thump" in 2007, a song that criticised anti-immigration viewpoints. White has been a frequent and vocal critic of Donald Trump across both presidential terms, calling him a "wannabe dictator" and objecting to Trump's use of White Stripes music at rallies (Billboard).
White responded on the night of 18 August with an Instagram post containing what appeared to be lyrics to an unheard song, seemingly addressing Crockett's accusations (Billboard).
Crockett also accused unnamed artists who had spent years praising him of using the incident to "kick me in the d--k." He had deactivated his social media accounts in the days after the initial controversy, according to Loudwire. Consequence, which covered the fallout on 18 August, described Twin Temple as a "Satanic doo-wop group" (Consequence).
Rolling Stone published an interview with Twin Temple on 14 July in which the duo discussed the Crockett tour drama, their Satanic beliefs, and whether they would open for White (Rolling Stone).
The dispute has now pulled in three acts, drawn lines over who said what and why, and shown no sign of cooling off quickly.
