PASADENA, Calif. (AP) – Annie Lennox says online criticism leveled at her remarks about the anti-lynching song “Strange Fruit” was hurtful and unfair.
“It was so painful. I can’t even begin to tell you. I’m the last person who would disrespect that history,” Lennox said.
In a TV interview last fall about her new CD, “Nostalgia,” and the “Strange Fruit” track it includes, Lennox didn’t mention that the 1930s song made famous by Billie Holiday was a direct attack on African-American hangings of the era.
Blogs and posts on Twitter accused her of “whitewashing” the song’s origins by referring generally to human violence and bigotry while speaking to PBS host Tavis Smiley last October.
Lennox, appearing Monday night at a Television Critics Association meeting to promote a spring PBS “Nostalgia” concert special, was asked about the controversy. She said she was glad to address it after initially remaining silent.