3. Why is it so important that Janet be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?
Well, I’m sure Janet isn’t losing any sleep over it honestly. She’s very humble and has oodles and loads of awards already. I’ve been so passionate in this effort, though, because she so deserves this honour. And many of the fans want this so badly for her. So, we fight the good fight on her behalf. I hope she beamed with pride when she learned of her most recent nomination.
Janet’s resume more than speaks for itself already – but we’ll continue to champion the cause because she’s so deserving and she really should have been inducted years ago.
4. What inspired you to start the Induct Janet campaign?
It goes back to those earlier years and the endless conversations venting over Rock Hall frustrations with Joanna Robinson, Tahira, Don Newton, Micah McCoin (to name but a few). Back in 2011 or so, several of us were admins on a few of the Janet related Facebook pages. Year after year as we watched Janet overlooked by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination committee, our frustration continued to build. Janet was still suffering from the Super Bowl fallout and blacklisting, so we decided to take action. We started an online petition at first, but that seemed a bit ‘old school’ in the growing age of social media. So, we launched a Twitter handle just to see if we could get any traction. (I wasn’t even on Twitter at that time and not familiar with it at all – so I concentrated on building the Facebook page). Slowly but surely, the Facebook presence began to take off and spread. Growing up in Ohio, I was a bit of a Rock Hall fan and paid close attention to the nominations, ballots and inductions and all of the politics that comes with it. I also paid very close attention to the fan campaigns that were being run for various snubbed artists. I consciously decided to take a completely different approach and to maintain positivity at all times. All posts focused on Janet’s amazing career accomplishments, who she’s influenced and why she’s deserving of induction. It didn’t take long for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame enthusiasts to agree – ‘Why ISN’T Janet in the Hall of Fame? Why hasn’t Janet even been nominated yet? ‘
And it just continued to grow from there. Various press and media outlets showed interest, many of the ‘rock hall enthusiast websites reached out. Some celebrities and music industry insiders got involved. And by this time there were so many #JanFam members contributing graphics and news story links, and helping with #InductJanet trending events, etc. That’s one thing I always state…..we’re all in this together and it’s all for Janet!