Jack White Answers Charley Crockett’s Accusations With a 1984 Novelty Rap

The dispute over Twin Temple’s removal from Charley Crockett’s tour has now pulled Jack White into a direct public back-and-forth. Crockett posted a since-deleted Instagram message explaining that production requests and the Satanic doo-wop group’s aesthetic led him to drop them from an all-ages bill. He then aimed at White, who had offered Twin Temple an opening slot on his own tour.

“He used it to sell tickets too and I lost a lot of respect for him,” Crockett wrote. He added that White had not been as outspoken during the White Stripes years and may have avoided political issues to protect his audience.

White’s response did not address that history. Instead, he shared the lyrics to “Rappin’ Duke,” Shawn Brown’s 1984 novelty rap built around a rapping John Wayne. In a short note, White wrote that he had said nothing about “this young buck” before, but since Crockett was dragging him into the rodeo, the lyrics were his official response.

The move reads less like a rebuttal than a deliberate narrowing of the argument: Crockett’s cowboy persona becomes the target, while the question of Twin Temple’s removal and White’s earlier political silence remains unanswered.