Back in 2011, Jack White (of The White Stripes) and Karen Elson (famous model/singer) announced they were divorcing. They announced it on their sixth wedding anniversary, and they sort of threw a “we’re getting a divorce” party, which is looney birds, but it sort of fits with what we know about their personalities. They have two children together, and I genuinely hoped that the “divorce party” was a sign that they were keeping everything amicable for the sake of their kids. Turns out, not so much. TMZ reports that Karen has just obtained a restraining order against Jack because of his “explosive and violent temper”. Jeez.
Jack White — lead singer of the White Stripes — has been hit with a restraining order … after his estranged wife told a judge she fears the rocker is DANGEROUS and could cause her harm.
Karen Elson obtained the restraining order in Tennessee in July — claiming White has an explosive and violent temper … and has berated her in emails loaded with profanity.
In the legal docs, Elson — a model and singer — says she fears for her own safety … AND the safety of the couple’s two young children.
Jack and Karen were married in 2005 in a canoe in the middle of the Amazon river in Brazil … only to separate in 2011. Karen finally filed for divorce in 2012.
So far, no comment from White’s camp.
Oh, emails? I mean, email threats are very real. More and more, the threats that people feel are coming via email or Twitter or Facebook or other social media. It’s a brave new world of stalking, harassing and threatening and the legal system is catching up (slowly). I’m sort of surprised that Karen was able to get a restraining order after just receiving threatening emails, but then again… she probably saved all of the emails and showed them to the judge. Which means Jack White was probably losing his sh-t on her on a regular basis. What’s up, Jack White? Stop threatening and harassing your ex-wife.
Photos are from 2008 and 2009, courtesy of WENN, FameFlynet.
He reminds me of the Canadian version of Pete Doherty.
I think he is from Detroit, not Canada, unless Detroit jumped the pond.
Detroit, yes, and not a druggie rep like Pete.
I dont think he’s Canadian, we do not want blame for him. He is so nasty and scary looking. Does he put make-up on around his eyes to get that ‘fresh from the crack dealer’ look?
Fresh from the crack dealer look — hahahahahahahah
Thanks for the laugh.
I would have happily taken him as our own about two minutes ago, before I read this. He’s incredibly talented, this is super crappy news. Get some help, man. I hope Karen and the kids will be ok.
(I would think emails would definitely be taken seriously as it’s proof of the threat? Verbal is one person’s word against the other, right?)
I wondered the same thing. Then I thought maybe “allergy chic” was in and I just missed that trend.
LOL! “allergy chic.” Yeah I rock that look too every spring and it doesn’t cost me a thing.
I also don’t understand why he wants to look like that. One of the things he’s known for is his hate of anything too rock’n’roll lifestyle-wise (music excluded). He once left an interview and pushed an interviewer who wanted to smoke a joint in front of him and one of the main reasons he divorced Meg was her party lifestyle which he didn’t approve. Judging from his interviews, he is a very troubled mind and he has a (self-proclaimed) phobia of getting addicted and ruining his career the Hendrix/Cobain/Joplin style. Why he’s digging this unflattering hard-drug addiction look is beyond me but that’s in fashion among musicians right now. I.e. the singer of Edward Sharpe&The Maginetic Zeros is clean for almost a decade but he willingly makes himself look like a hippie-addict and says that it’s amusing for him that he can be the cleanest person on the music festival and still be the only one called a druggie.
Many people think Jack is Canadian because he has roots in Nova Scotia. Jack’s grandparents on his father’s side are from the area where I live. The only reason I know this is because my lawyer is related to him and went on and on about it when I was in signing papers to buy my house.
@kileyray,
Jack’s (and your lawyer’s) relatives in Nova Scotia are members of the MacMaster and MacIsaac families – famous musicians in the area.
One of the White Stripes last tours was through remote parts of Canada. It’s chronicled in the documentary ‘Under the Great White Northern Lights.’
She reminds me of a British Halle Barry.
I bet she does not want to live in Nashville any longer….on her Twitter page she says “somehow I ended up in Nashville” Duh! you married and had kids with a guy who loves the place.
And I believe what he says about the lawyer stirring crap up.
Those emails do not show threats at all.
This is what it was all about Jack is known for his temper but also is generosity.
http://blogs.tennessean.com/tunein/2013/08/02/jack-white-criticizes-dan-auerbach-in-court-filed-emails/
I didn’t know they had babies too, wow.
He LOOKS scary, get some alcohol in him, I’d be terrified to be in the same room with him.
I actually have been in the same room with both of them. He couldn’t have been nicer.
This makes me so sad to read. I love Jack White 🙁
I love Jack White, too. I am dying to go to his Third Man studio.
He’s an intense dude. If a Judge signed off on that Order there was good reason. Jack is like royalty in Nashville and I’m sure the Judge knew it.
As far as him having a Hate List of artists who’ve ripped him off, he needs to move beyond that. He is so talented. Don’t visit your adult grudges on your kids. I’m looking at you, too, Karen.
Sadness 🙁
Me too, kitten. 🙁 He’s always been kind and down-to-earth, and a very generous person.
I triple love him and this makes me really sad. He’s talented and intelligent and well spoken. Check out Catholic Throwdown on Stephen Colbert http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/390484/june-23-2011/exclusive—2011–a-rock-odyssey-featuring-jack-white—catholic-throwdown.
I just read the emails…and they are NOT threatening whatsoever. He seems upset, yes, but they aren’t what the headlines imply. Perhaps there are other more extreme examples of evidence I haven’t seen.
I’m with you, I love him, he’s so talented. Sad story.
Didn’t he get in trouble for severely beating someone at a concert a few years back?
yeah, I think he almost killed someone.
Not even close, but yeah, he did punch the guy in the face and gave him a nasty black eye (he was in a band with Jack’s ex-girlfriend, though I think she had left the band by then.) That was back in the early 2000’s.
Wow sounds like a great guy.
Yes. He did. It was the Von Bondies frontman Jason Stollsteimer. In 2003?
He’s a massive control freak! This was often reported from various musicians he was with a lot. It was dismissed as just being creative and eccentric then.
Later His ex band mate and gf Meg’s ex post Jack told of how submissive and damaged she was because of her time with Jack. He sounds like a nightmare.
I hope this is not the same loving boyfriend of Meg’s that published the sex tape that completely wrecked her life. If it is, he’s full of it too.
The sex tape was dismissed as bogus years ago. Meg is a very shy former bartender who was thrust into a spotlight she never expected. Like Jack, she seemed emotionally unsuited for the business, but drinking was her way of dealing with it. She shuns the spotlight completely now, and I don’t blame her.
Nope. This one came after that. That guy was pure slime. Just from outside observing she seems to have a submissive personality. Very meek. Even when she was with Jack in the White stripes during a king (?) interview I think, She was asked specific questions and she’d either stutter in a soft voice or glance in a shy manner to him. Either way all questions asking her for her opinion were answered by Jack.
I think I’m specifically thinking of when she was asked why she played the drums. He answered for her.
Or maybe she’s just super shy all the time and her meek personality existed before Jack.
@kittenmittens,
Another one? I’m sure they dealt with a lot of scumbags after they became famous, but I hadn’t heard about another tape. Meg was shy and quiet for as long as I followed the White Stripes. I remember interviews where Jack begged her to talk and she wasn’t having any of it. She’s probably smart. The less said when you’re in the public eye, the better. Let Jack bare his soul for the world to see.
He also went all the way off on a Chicago DJ for leaking a White Stipes album and apparently got into a physical altercation with Allison Mosshart in 2009.
This still gives me a major case of the sads though and not only because I would have left my husband for him before reading this but because he actually is a very talented musician. Hopefully he gets his shite together before he blows his whole career.
He and Alison both dismissed the tabloid story about a fight and they still seem to be friends, so… Some people believed they had an affair, but there was nothing to support that, either, unless you count their on-stage dynamic.
Ah! I love both Jack White and Allison Mossheart (and Dead Weather of course). Really hope that isn’t true!
I can see him being a rage monster. She has the right to protect herself and her kids. I hope he obeys it.
This brings me back to the post about Jack White from December 2012. So many people were talking about how wonderful and genuine Jack White was when I mentioned a double standard. It had something to do with Adam Levine throwing shade at Honey Boo Boo and her reality show. Levine was called a douche but when Jack White threw shade at music contests and reality shows he was called genuine and real.
Adam is a douch and I wasn’t defending his doucheness, I was just pointing out the double standard. Now I wonder if those defenders of Jack White still feel the same way.
Who’s the bigger douche; the man who has bad dating habits and say douchey things or the man who berates the mother of his children and has struck such fear into her that she now fears for her life?
One is a douche. The other is a f**kimg a**hole. There is a difference
These are two different things. Adam Levine is a douche and as far as we know generally harmless, assuming the girls he messes around will get over it one day. (Hey, we’ve all dated a douche and had to get over it.) Jack has some very serious issues that cannot be snarkily packaged up as mere douchiness, he needs help. For the record, I can’t stand Adam Levine, and I admire Jack for his music, everything he produces is a future classic. So this stings a lot. How do you listen to your favourite songs knowing the man has put fear into his wife and children?
I’m a a fan of JW and as much as I hate to admitt it, I will probably still listen to his music. Adam’s a douche but we haven’t heard of him physically abusing or verbally threatening any of his girlfriends or for that matter putting a hand on anyone.
JW on the other hand has beaten a guy, his own people claims he is hard to work with, has anger issues and bolts when things don’t go his way. I’m referring to the concert he did in NY and walked off the stage because the sound wasn’t to his liking. He’s heading more in the direction of Chris Brown kind of doucheness and assholeness. I think I just created my own word but oh well.
I hope he gets the help he needs. Like I said I will still listen to his music but it just goes to show that people we think highly of have their faults as well.
I don’t remember the arguments, but I still don’t care about Adam Levine. He hasn’t shown me any reason to like his music or him, but enough to think he’s kind of a tool. I try to ignore him, for the most part.
I read the emails on TMZ, and there would be NO reason for a person to “fear for their life” based on them. Perhaps there was more evidence I haven’t seen, but essentially he is just saying that he is upset that she is dragging out the proceedings and only allowing him 2 days per week with the kids.
He doesn’t threaten her, he doesn’t call her vile things, he just sounds unhappy.
In the Daily Mail (i know…i know) article it sounded as if he was getting pi$$ed the divorce was taking so long and he felt like her lawyers were ripping him off. Perhaps she’s dragging out the settlement and he’s getting tired of legal bills. That being said, he still can’t harrass her. This is what happens when you decide to get married and bring children into the world. Life gets complicated…
A Seven Nation Army couldn’t hold him back..but a Nashville Judge sure as hell can LOL
Yes..he was upset she kept dragging the settlement out and was tired of paying lawyers because of her shenanigans. I’m reserving judgement on that..but the Judge felt there was good cause for the Order.
Divorces are SO insanely difficult and traumatic. There are custody issues here, too.
I hated the Divorce Party. I thought that was really disrespectful.
We’ll see what happens on Aug 29th..keep us up to date Kaiser!
I wonder if the reason he’s made recent (and hefty) donations is to decrease his net worth so that she gets less $$. If so, its really sh*tty especially since it’s rumored that they got a divorce because he had an early mid life crisis by way of having an affair with a 23 year old.
Usually donations are made in relation to income for tax purposes. I think a finanical advisor would tell him to make the donations with or without a divorce happening.
TMZ leaked the emails, everything he has to say besides the Black Keys thing seem to be pretty legimate complaints about the divorce and custody. I’m surprised the courts even considered a restraining order, let alone granted one.
I completely agree, Fran. I wonder if there is more evidence, because those emails do NOT show any type of threat.
Good for her. No one should tolerate threats even those send by emails!
The emails that I read do not include threats.
Ugh. Jack White you just broke my heart. Back to the Matt Damon post I go.
Exactly. Dammit, why did this have to happen? I LOVE him so much and now I have to think he is a violent stalker? Get some help dude, so I can go back to dreaming of our perfect life together! Seriously though, this makes me really sad.
Totally with you guys.
I thought it was so awesome how he saved the Masonic Temple in Detroit. He’s such an incredibly talented dude….very very bummed about this.
I loved him ever since his Catholic Throwdown with Stephen Colbert. I’m not even religious, but I LOVE this whole thing. Two Catholic-raised boys going at each other for their knowledge of Catholic trivia. Hilarious. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/390484/june-23-2011/exclusive—2011–a-rock-odyssey-featuring-jack-white—catholic-throwdown
Funny you should say that, because I have waited on both of them. Jack used to be a regular at a restaurant I worked at in Detroit and Matt used to be a regular at a Starbucks I worked at in New York. Talk about day and night differences in personality!
Jack White is an insufferable a**hole who is angry and mean to everyone. He’s the type of guy who girls feel the need to apologize for when they’re out on a date. In fact, Renee Zelew… However you spell her name… Actually did apologize for his behavior once while he was in the bathroom. She apologized to the waitress AND the hostess. Jack White is that much of a self important prick!
On the other hand, Matt Damon is a total sweetheart. He’s always polite, he learns people’s names and he never has special demands. He’s nice to fans and to the people who make his lattes… *sigh* and he’s even more handsome in person than he is on screen! I never really cared about him until I started seeing him across the counter every morning, but his personality made me a big fan.
Thanks for both accounts. Jack and his wife–despite whatever addiction phobias people claim him to have–both look like they’ve done some hard living. From the sounds of it, Renee Z has dodged many bullets in her life.
I’ve actually had two interactions with Jack White, and both were positive and left me with lots of happy feels and memories. He complimented a pair of earrings I was wearing and they immediately went into retirement. So this news makes me extra special sad. And people talking about their less-than-awesome JW interactions makes me want to watch It Might Get Loud again in the fetal position, clutching a box of tissues while screaming “WHY JACK WHITE,WHY?”
I’m in his camp about the Dan Auerbach ripping him off comments. I thought the same thing the first time I heard The Black Keys. How much more White Stripes not-quite-a-cover band can you get?!
that’s what happens when you divorce Edward Scisssorhands
Bwah!!!!
Hahahahahahaha yeah he’s got the whole Tim Burton character look down pat.
didn’t he beat the everloving sh*t out of some guy in the von bondies a while back?
Love him so much!! Like really love him. Divorce is really hard and can change people especially if one of the parties isn’t being treated fairly.
Divorce is hard. But violence and harassment has nothing to do with divorce. If she is saying “I’m scared for myself and my kids.” That needs to be taken seriously. I have a hard time praising someone who, ALLEGEDLY, bullies, intimates and verbally abuses those around him. Unacceptable.
I don’t think this has something to do with divorce =>
http://0.tqn.com/d/altmusic/1/0/R/B/-/-/jasonstollsteimer.jpg
Wow. I just read an article about her in a fashion mag and she was talking about how lucky her kids are to have such a great father, and how they made their post-divorce friendship work.
It is entirely possible that he is still a good/decent father but an asshole to his ex wife.
It is definitely entirely possible. I have a first cousin who got married at 19. Her husband was a good provider, a good father, but an absolutely shitty husband. He was abusive to her as well….but unfortunately for him, she knew how to fight back and didn’t take that kind of treatment laying down.
Oh I’ve known many great parents who made horrible partners. But she made it sound like she and Jack had a good relationship and their friendship might not be easy for people who want to date them. I was surprised at how open she was. I forget the magazine, but it was the most recent issue.
So much for an amicable divorce. I’m trying to figure who had the most pale complexion or the most powder on their face in these pictures. Gah.
After being with him only a few years her looks and styling went completely down the tube. I hope she’s recovered.
Her career picked up again after they got married, even though she was pregnant 2x. I’ve always thought she was gorgeous.
Ok, I know nothing about him, don’t really listen to his music but I watched an hour and half interview of his with Conan. And it was deep, meaningful stuff, man. After watching that interview I can imagine him being violent and volatile, he comes across as this enigmatic person with a lot of pent up emotion inside him.
Totally agree. That’s why I’m not jumping to “who knows if he did it?!?!”
Unfortunately, it’s really not hard for me to believe this about him, knowing what a complex and emotional kind of guy he is. Regardless, he’s an asshole to send threatening, mean, scary emails to his ex-wife. That most definitely IS real harassment and very cowardly at that.
If she was granted the restraining order there’s no questioning if he did it or not. He did.
Random. I just started watching that interview yesterday and had planned to finish it today.
I’m curious to know more of the story. The DM says she put in the petition that he contacted her legal team legal team in an inappropriate and aggressive manner and made derogatory comments about her to their manager. I’m incredibly surprised she’s able to get a TRO based on that. That doesn’t add up for how the TRO system typically works.
I’m guessing that the judge granted the TRO based on his past anger issues.
Ugh, so disappointed if this is true. I had such a rocker crush on him. Cray temper with a pension for drunk emails= less hot.
oh me too. when watching him on stage, its hard to take your eyes off him. his newest album is my current summer obsession too.
This is weird, she was singing his praises in an interview not that long ago.
Anyone anywhere can send emails- ever heard of hacking? no? I can’t believe the way everyone just jumps on the bandwagon here. And after the wife just claimed in publication what a lovely wonderful person/father the man is? People are given restraining orders out of an abundance of precaution, so I am glad that this lady can now feel safe from those terrifying emails. Emails are like phone calls- you really don’t have to open or answer.
Or maybe just don’t send those types of emails or make those types of calls either?
Well, one would be opening and listening to messages of their children’s father, especially when visitation is the topic. Get real.
I would think if parents were coordinating shared parenting,they might actually pick up the phone and make a call. These people probably have nannies/assistants. This is a bunch of fuss over a little bit of nothing.
I’ll be honest – I don’t think he’s a day at the beach to live with. I don’t think she is, either, but I don’t have years of writing to judge her by so I’ll leave it at that.
He had kind of a hard knock upbringing in Detroit and his writing seems to reveal a deeply sensitive person with something of a persecution complex. I get the impression from his interviews and writing that he was picked on a lot as a kid, and being the youngest of ten, and writing became his outlet for expressing a lot of dark feelings (which is a lot better than acting on them, I have to admit.)
He’s a great musician, artist, and super creative businessman, but I don’t think he’s necessarily well-suited personally to deal with the rigors of the business he’s in and the kind of people it often attracts.
Apparently Jack lost his shite on Karen’s attorney’s paralegal, too. That right there shows a disturbing pattern of behavior and was quite possibly the deciding factor in the Judge’s decision to grant the Order.
Sad..Jack is a huge crush for me and I hope he gets his crap wired tight after getting called out on his inappropriate actions. I wouldn’t put up with my ex sending my threatening BS, either.
O ______ O
They had a “divorce party” to celebrate when they broke up? You learn something new every day. LOL
Anyone who has heard the Bluderbuss album is not dying of shock right now.
Didn’t Karen do backup vocals on that?
She did. He produced her album, too.
Very disappointing, I have always liked Jack White. That being said, they both look like they walked straight out from the pages of an Anne Rice novel.
People who send threats through email/Twitter/Facebook just stun me – there is a record of everything, not only on the recipient’s email/whatevs but on the servers etc. So, so, so stupid.
It is dumb. I save most of the emails that get sent to me. And emails can be easily investigated to be shown if they’re real or not. So it’s not like you can send yourself a threatening email and then use that as evidence. It’s a little harder to fake these.
The worst part emails NEVER disappear. They’re somewhere in the world sitting on a server (probably our governments) so they can be used for data at some point. Even our chats.
I liked his Marc Bolan hair way better than the greasy civil war zombie look he does now.
Dang I figured jack white was classier and frankly smarter than that. This is incredibly disappointing. 🙁
It sure is, loved The White Stripes.
Talented guy but those eyes look like he lives a hard life.
It looks like godawful pinkish shadow, if you look closely.
Freaks.
Jack White is an utter genius. His music blows me away. Also, I believe Karen.
Nothing good or great you have ever done excuses (or even mitigates) exploding at people and terrifying them.
Even if he seems nice on the surface or in public (and by some of these posts it sounds like that’s questionable) it doesn’t mean he isn’t harassing and violent towards his estranged wife and kids in private. I come from a broken home where on the surface my father was super charming and most people liked him. They had no idea that he beat us and verbally abused my mother. Back when I was a child, abuse was not taken as seriously as it is now so we had no recourse. I now work in a legal office and see battery cases, stalking and harassment, etc prosecuted to the fullest extent. And yes, Kaiser you are correct about the number of cases being solidified by e-mails, texts and posts on websites by the abusive person. Our victim advocates will have the victim bring the print copies to our office to use as proof in their case. This isn’t something to be taken lightly if he is even the slightest bit guilty. However, he is innocent until proven so. BUT a TPO that has been granted against him doesn’t make this look good at all.
They looked like real life characters from Corpse Bride.
Very surprised. I remember when they got divorced they had a party to prove how amicable it all was. I guess that fizzled quick…
Reserve judgment until there’s proof.
If a court has already decided and approved a restraining order then I’m pretty sure they were thorough in their investigation. So I think there’s enough proof. Jack should get judged. This is not appropriate. The man needs help with his emotional issues if this what he does. I hope he realizes and does something about it. 🙁
A restraining order is not hard to get at all… in fact, you can get one with practically no evidence or investigation. That comes afterward.
@Talie See I don’t know. My mom had to record phone calls and present them and pull up emails, contact her lawyer everything when another woman was harassing her. Maybe she just took that precaution ahead of time. But it felt like we needed to show a pattern of harassment.
If the RO is temporary then yeah there probably wasn’t enough investigation done, if not then I’m more inclined to believe that they had substantial evidence of “aggressive behavior.”
@Bijlee: It’s unlikely there was any investigation. The proof might be as little as your statement: s/he said “I’m going to kill you” on X date and on Y date and you didn’t think they were kidding, you were afraid for your safety. It varies from state to state and judge to judge, but the court is likely to take your word for it.
Think about it from a legal standpoint: a restraining order is simply Jane wants Jim to stop contacting her. Jim will not be arrested nor go to prison nor have a criminal record. Jim can go absolutely anywhere Jane is not, so Jim is not being deprived of much freedom, and the whole deal is (almost always) temporary anyway.
I absolutely adore his music, but he’s an asshole for this. Who knows what she had to put up with while they were still married.
On the first pic, she looks like a redheaded Avril Lavigne 15 years from now.
It makes me wonder how he and Meg were able to hold it together professionally for so long after their divorce. I guess different people connect in different ways.
I think they really loved each other. They seemed like family. Meg’s husband was in Karen’s band, by the way.
You know, that’s something I’ve wondered about. He gained a bit of weight quite quickly during the time he was dating Renee Zellweger (remember that?) and I wondered if maybe it was from anti-depressants. I’ve heard some have that as a side effect.
Oops – that reply was for Anne’s comment below about bi-polar.
One of his brothers is pretty heavy and Jack’s already a pretty big dude when he’s not working out, it could just be genes.
I think he might be bipolar. Look at the eyes…
I think he may be bipolar…look at the eyes…
Check TMZ for his ‘threatening’ emails. It’s beyond me how an restraining order was granted based on those.
She’s dragging this out to squeeze more money out of him. Also, she probably wants to take the children back to England, I’m sure a restraining order helps her cause.
Seriously. I was just coming here to say that. What he’s saying in the emails is that he’s tired of her dragging this out (for over 2 years!! I’d be pissed too!) and that she keeps changing her mind. The truth is that no one knows what went on in their marriage or what is going on in their divorce except them and possibly their attorneys. She must have a super kick ass attorney to be able to get an RO based on this. I feel sorry for their kids because it seems like it’s getting messy.
I lived in Nashville last year and I saw him out with Scarrlett and Henry a few times. They looked like a pretty normal, happy, ridiculously pale family.
@fran,
Yeah, he’s seen with his kids around Nashville, though they’re never photographed. From twitter yesterday:
“Jack White from The White Stripes came and ate at my work today with his adorable children… I almost died.”
He sounds like the hard ass like he’s been known to be at times, but if these emails are all there is, it tells me she or her lawyers are treating this like a game and they just overplayed their hand.
Wow, thank you for posting this. Having just looked on TMZ, I retract my earlier comment.
In the emails, Jack seems sarcastic and quite aggravated (and naive about how ugly his divorce is about to get), that’s all. But I saw absolutely no threats, no violence, no explosiveness. It’s not a crime to be pissed off and bitchy.
How the RO happened… well, as I always say, you don’t get a restraining order, you request a restraining order and not all are granted. However, judges usually err on the side of safety. The standard of evidence is pretty low, not like the standard of evidence needed to convict someone in a criminal case. Basically, you say “I feel threatened for X, Y, and Z reasons,” and bring in some angry emails, and you will probably be granted a RO. The other person can contest it, they can also turn around and request a RO against you, but I wonder if Jack White’s attorney is telling him to just let things cool off for now and let the truth come out later.
What a mess. Their poor kids.
Well dang. I feel like there must me many more emails though that we probably aren’t seeing. I doubt a restraining order would be put up for JUST this.
Am I the only one that read the story?
It says he has a violent temper “AND” there have been threatening emails. As a paralegal, that indicates to me that there was other evidence aside from the emails. TMZ was likely ONLY able to get the emails, so that is all they can write about, and that’s all you are seeing. I would wager with a pretty siginficanty degree of certainty that there is other evidence.
Of course if anyoen can provide facts to the contrary, I will retract my statement.
That could’ve just been due to his previous arrest for a bar fight, he did court-ordered anger management classes for a while after that. It’s perfectly normal to bring older business into it, even though something might’ve gone down while they were married.
Brooke, thanks, I don’t really follow him so I didn’t know any of his past history. But like you say, it doesn’t preclude the possibility that something also happened in the marriage aside from the emails.
Yeah, as Brooke says, I would guess it’s his past, considering he had to go to anger management classes, I think.
I, too, am a paralegal- you should know better than to pronounce someone guilty without a trial.
This is how she describes herself on Twitter,
“Singer, professional day dreamer, clothes horse and puppet on strings. Born in Northern England, raised all over the world and somehow ended up in Nashville TN.”
I think she runs/owns a resale shop in Nashville but I bet it’s begun to feel too small town for her and her extensive worldliness.
I don’t think he’s a saint but I can imagine she could try to manipulate.
The resale shop closed a few years ago.
All humans are violent. The more attractive they are, the more violent and vice versa, because the capacity and propensity for violence is an ancient talisman of virility, fertility, and security. Marriage is forever. The very idea of an ex-wife or ex- husband is pure delusion. When someone who is part of you is determined to leave, it literally rips you apart. A violent marriage is no surprise, but a violent divorce even less so. Chivalry is currently trashed as something that perpetuates all the terrible realities just described, but it was actually one of the first and most successful ways to genuinely deal with the human condition, as opposed to wishfully denying it or fancifully redefining it. Chivalry tamed humans who knew they were wilder than beasts. Gynodoxy produces people who have no concept of human nature or how to deal with what they really are.
This comment is so offensively ridiculous, I don’t even know how to respond to it, other than to say, Go back to your cave. It’s the 21st century.
Gynodoxy…smdh. Unbelievable.
Your observation of which century it is was spot on. Your assessment that you do not even know how to respond is probably too harsh. In fact, I would wager that your response is completely normal for someone who has been successfully cured of their human condition.
@Lee,
The Maya civilization were not hunter-gatherers…if i’m understanding your reply…
“Hunting and gathering …strategy employed by human societies beginning some 1.8 million …It remained…until the end of the Mesolithic period some 10,000 years ago, and after this was replaced only gradually with the spread of the Neolithic Revolution.” Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter-gatherer.
There are a few groups worldwide who still live like that to this day.
This makes absolutely no sense.
A paean to chivalry as a response to Theseus and Hippolyta busting up like Jason and Medea makes no sense? I obviously need to tune my lute.
@Lee,
“All humans are violent”? Except that they all aren’t. I can’t say I know what the hell you’re talking about, but I must encourage you to tune your lute, as that is the single most delightful sentence I’ve seen here in ages.
So….play on.
I’m not a total fan Western style of feminism, but I think you should rethink your belief of the “violence of mankind.” Who benefits from this old sawhorse?
You should read what many anthopolgists have uncovered about primitive hunter-gatherers. There’s good evidence that before division of labor and agriculture, things were much more egalitarian and much less violent.
Gibson’s Apocalypto is a powerful depiction of your point.
@Lee
The Maya civilization were not hunter-gatherers…if i’m understanding your reply.
Think of hunter-gatherers 12,000 years ago not 1,200 years ago.
This is at least interesting. Though, I haven’t even the wherewithal to agree or disagree. But thank you for making me interested.
You are so welcome. Thank you.
I can dig it, Lee. Preach on. I love me some passionate Jack White.
I got a witness! Thank you.
I’ve read some of the emails, and they’re hardly threatening and harrassing. Mildly annoying definitely. Maybe there is more that is yet to be released, but to me it sounds like it’s being blown a bit out of proportion at this stage.
He looks like a damn Tim Burton character…
It’s funny you should say that because he looks a lot like Johnny Depp.
ITA. He looks exactly like Johhny Depp, especially as Willy Wonka.
JW looks like a mix of Mike Meyers and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
There was a short man who married a short woman. He had a short temper so the marriage was short lived.
Now that’s a short story
lol…What kind of school does Jack White’s kid and Dan Auerbach’s kid go to? Q: Are their classmates also rock scions from the likes of Flat Duo Jets, the Kills, Beach House, Ting Tings, Japandoids, No Age, Raveonettes, or Fierry Furnaces? Q: Does the schoolhouse look more like the Munsters, the Addams Family, or is it built out of Legos? Q: Are the hallways covered in peppermint candy swirls? Q: Do the parents drive El Caminos or Plymouth Grand Voyagers? So many questions…
I must be using a different meaning for “threatening” e-mails. The messages I just read are irritated, fed-up & “I’ve-had-enough-of-this-crap”, but they’re not threatening or violent. If Karen Elson is afraid of Jack White, it must be based on things other than these messages? Puzzling.
I concur. I’m also wondering who leaked the emails? My way of thinking is that if it was Jack (to show that he’s not a violent a-hole) then Karen should/could release the violent messages to show that she’s not lying-pr and gossip-wise anyway. If she is lying, then I feel bad for the kids. It’s bad enough that he has to hear crap from the kids, they don’t need their parents’ personal lives all over. Especially if it’s because their mom is trying to drag things out.
Thank you! They are absolutely not threatening in any way. Mel Gibson’s voicemails? Those were threatening. I mean, it is a blatant attempt on her end to gain some legal leverage.
@JH,
Maybe we need reminding of what “threatening” sounds like—Mel Gibson. “I will bury you in the rose garden” is a wee bit scarier than Jack White’s messages.
Temp. restraining orders are really not that hard to get a hold of. One of my friends got one when she broke up with a boyfriend, he was threatening her but, he kept showing up at her dorm and following her. I’m guessing the courts want to be on the safe side especially since there are children involved. Also, he does have a previous assault charge on his record. Though it has nothing to do with this case they might have taken that into consideration.
That being said, I read the emails. Nowhere is it threatening. White just sounds annoyed. If you were getting divorced and it dragged on for 2 years you would be too. He mentions only getting to see his kids twice a week and not getting to see them on his birthday. Yea, that would make me mad too. Some of the other stuff in the email seems petty (the whole thing about the school and who his kids sit next to) but, there might be some back story there we know nothing about. Bottom line is that divorces are messy…often times one or both parents can be vindictive. I find it interesting that these emails got leaked… Jack White is a very private person when it comes to his personal life. I honestly believe that someone from Karen’s team leaked this. It makes her look better and getting a restraining order against her ex (painting Jack as a horrible person) might get her primary or sole custody.
This whole divorce drama reminds me of this song that he JUST covered for The Great Gatsby….I’m thinking he was feeling some of the frustration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWir6wUkPtw
Great cover of the U2 song. He’s done some great covers of Dylan songs well.
Oh, geez, I was just on his wiki page…they already have a blow by blow of the whole thing. Apparently they’re due in court on the 29th.
This is pretty standard divorce stuff. His frustration is understandable, but so is her anxiety over a bright, assertive man who bombards her with messages and phone calls. Her lawyer’s retaliatory measures are pretty harassing, too, though, including tarring him with this court filing.
Mediation is probably the best solution, but there may be too many grudges under the bridge by now. They will probably now proceed to mutually-assured destruction in the courtroom.
White’s response: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/jack-white-fires-back-at-karen-elson-in-court-20130802
The day after she signed her affidavit for the RO, she left the kids with him for 10 days while she went to New York.
*side eye to the ‘fearful’ Karen Elson*
Divorce is horrible. I hope they eventually forgive each other for all the BS and become friends again.
That’s some bullsh*t man. I don’t know what’s really going on with their situation but I do know that I would not leave my kids for 10 days with someone who I thought was mentally unstable. The kids are the only losers here and that sucks.
The more and more I hear about this the more it seems like Karen is pulling a “Halle Berry” like she is trying to manipulate the situation to get the results that she wants. I have no doubts that Jack White is probably a some what of a controlling person. He can be somewhat intense in interviews and he is often the one who seems to speak for whatever band he is in at the time. That being said Karen has said in various recent interviews about what a great person Jack is and how he is a wonderful father….and now all of a sudden she is scared of him? Yea, sorry that doesn’t really make sense to me. There have been rumors that she wants to move out of Nashville. It’s kind of hard to do that when you have shared custody.
…also it’s not hard to get a restraining order or at least a temp one. I’ve had friends get ones for really minor things.
Yeah, I doubt you become Jack White without being a competitive, driven person who does seek to exert control over his environment. All in the name of art, of course, but a Type A is a Type A. Being his adversary probably isn’t fun. However, at this point, it seems like Karen’s in more of a “back off with your withering emails, sarcasm boy” situation and less of an “OMG, I’m in danger” kinda thing.
Definately on Jack’s side now.
What’s with his pale skin and red rings around his eyes?
From twitter yesterday:
“Jack White from The White Stripes came and ate at my work today with his adorable children… I almost died.”
I think he is so hot. I knew someone who did an interview with him and thought he was one of the nicest people they had ever worked with. I really hope he isn’t the a’hole that some people above are stating.
I saw him today at Pei Wei in Nashville with a boy and a girl that I assume to be his. Didn’t appear too dangerous to me.
I am a huge fan of Jack White but his emails are almost identical to the emails my ex sends me all the time. My ex used to beat and is still obsessed with me even though I left him four years ago. Those emails look harmless to people who have been lucky enough to never be in an abusive relationship. The judge granted the restraining order because he or she mostly likely has the experience to spot that something is not right and its better to put him in check sooner rather than later. Its sad though cause I bet he is an awesome father, I know my ex is.