Meg White’s Privacy Intact After Daily Mail Photographs Wrong Woman

The Daily Mail’s search for Meg White ended with the outlet photographing the wrong Detroit woman and quietly deleting the resulting story, according to a report from The Guardian. The tabloid followed and secretly photographed a woman it believed to be the former White Stripes drummer, then published more than a dozen images under a headline promising to reveal White’s “secret new life.”

The problem was immediate. Multiple people close to White said the woman was not her. The woman herself told the Daily Mail exactly that when a reporter approached her, laughing and saying they had the wrong person. The publication still used her later “thank you” after receiving a compliment about the White Stripes’ music as evidence it had found its target. The woman is actually a friend of White’s, according to sources who spoke with The Guardian, and neither knew they were being followed or photographed.

Karen Elson, Jack White’s ex-wife, reportedly confirmed the mistaken identity in a since-deleted social media post and criticized the methods used to track the woman down. The Daily Mail removed the story and photos last week without publishing a correction or editor’s note. Neither the publication nor reporter Joe Hutchison responded to requests for comment.

Meg White has kept a deliberately low profile since The White Stripes ended in 2011, skipping last November’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction while Jack White read a message from her during the ceremony. A source close to White offered a simpler update: she is doing well and living the private life she has asked for.