The White Stripes Fooled Fans For Years With This One Lie

The White Stripes’ impact on modern rock music is undeniable. Dressed all in red, white, and black like matching pieces of candy, the minimal blues pair were unlikely stars. But no one could have known just how strange things would get. Several bizarre rumors began to swirl about Jack and Meg White, but one huge lie changed everything. And it left their fans feeling confused and betrayed.

Hiding a secret

When the band came on the scene in the early 2000s, it was a breath of fresh air. At a time when pop-punk bands — such as Blink-182 and Sum 41 — and nu-metal acts — think Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park — were dominating the charts, Jack and Meg went against the grain. They were a throwback to simple yet raw and vital 1960s garage rock. But the duo were hiding something strange.

Something was different

Everything about the White Stripes seemed different, even unique. For one thing, they were a two-piece instead of a full band. The duo’s visuals — from the clothes they wore on stage to their album art — made strict use of only three colors: red, black, and white. Oh, and there was also a compelling mythology behind their formation that began to spread through the media.

Untruthful from the beginning

The White Stripes’ origin story was as unusual and fascinating as anyone could have hoped. Fans learned that Jack and Meg were a brother and sister from Mexicantown in south-west Detroit. And they were the two youngest of ten siblings. The band came into existence on Bastille Day in 1997 when Meg apparently wandered into the attic to begin banging on Jack’s drum kit for the first time. But the pair weren’t being truthful...

A carefully constructed lie

In fact, the band were telling tall tales to the press from the start. And it worked like a charm. The White Stripes became one of the biggest rock acts in the 2000s, while journalists and fans had no real idea of who these people actually were. But their biggest lie would leave even their greatest fans in total shock.