Meg White versus the Daily Mail

We readily admit our shortcomings at Beacon of Speech. One of our failures is using the tabloid the Daily Mail (UK) as a source or as story inspiration on rare occasions.

We don't like TMZ, the National Enquirer is long gone, but the Daily Mail usually breaks big entertainment news faster than anyone.

But in terms of quality, they are sloppy, and on some occasions, just flat out wrong. If they have earth-shattering breaking news, I often go to "real" news sources to confirm.

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In November of 2025, the White Stripes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. To the disappointment of many, drummer Meg White didn't show up and didn't make a statement or prepare a pre-recorded message. Jack White penned a nice ode to his sister/ex-wife, but the White Stipes' induction was mostly about Jack.

From Jack about Meg:

“One time, a girl climbed a tree, and in that tree was a boy—her brother, she thought. And the tree looked so glorious and beautiful, but it was just an oak tree,” White read. “And these two so loved the world that they brought forth a parade float—one they built in their garage behind the oak tree with their own bare hands. And the boy looked at this giant peppermint on wheels and felt pride, pride that it was produced in the Motor City, just like in the big factories, but it was just in their garage. He looked at the girl—his sister, he thought. And, like the Little Rascals, they said, ‘Let’s put on a show.'”

“And they paraded this float through the Cass Corridor, standing atop the peppermint pulled by white horses, or maybe it was a red Econoline van. Many of the blocks they traveled were empty, but some had people. And some of those people cheered, some laughed, and some even threw stones. And with their bare hands, the two started to clap and sing and make up songs.”

Surprisingly, earlier this week, I saw a story about Meg White at the Daily Mail proclaiming that you'd be "shocked" to see what she looked like today.

I clicked on the link, but it didn't show me the picture, it was a Daily Mail+ exclusive behind a pay wall.

Whenever that happens, I just go to a different website.

Curiously, the story wasn't anywhere else on the internet. The next day, I re-searched for the story and it was at Yahoo! When I clicked that site, I got the Content Removed error. Went back to the Daily Mail, and the story wasn't locked anymore. I looked at the picture and thought to myself "that doesn't look like Meg White at all."

But hey, I've been wrong before. Between drugs, plastic surgery, and bad decisions, lots of peoples' appearances are drastically different over time.

Then the story disappeared altogether and even the places explaining what happening, their links dropped too.

The closest thing to an answer came from Reddit:

Reddit "solves" the mystery.

Did the Daily Mail print a retraction? As of 8/9/26 at 9:30 PM, no retraction.

Listen, I personally feel bad for Meg White. Rumors were that she had crippling anxiety, that's why she retreated from the public eye.

But on a human level, I think the explanation is much simpler. Jack White, no matter what else is said, was her ex-husband. I think it is feasible that her dreams no longer aligned with her former spouse's. That makes perfect sense on a personal level. If you're a successful, professional woman, how much time do you REALLY want to spend with your ex-husband? Does touring the country with your ex sound like fun?

She wished to remove herself from the public view, then shunned social media and places that would return her to public attention. For someone who wanted to disappear, she did it the right way.

That Daily Mail story really seemed to cross a journalistic line.

Then they didn't apologize for it when they were wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8chUMUiumo&list=RDc8chUMUiumo&start_radio=1

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