Steely Dan's Donald Fagen has issued an apology after Aimee Mann was dropped from the band's tour.
Mann had claimed in an Instagram post that she would no longer open for Steely Dan's tour dates this summer, as "they thought their audience wouldn't like a female singer-songwriter."
Fagen refuted the claim but at the same time apologized for the "distress caused to Aimee and her fans."
"Well, first of all, the idea that I would make any decision based on the gender of a performer is ridiculous," Fagen said in a statement obtained by Billboard. "That's something that would never even occur to me. There was a communication problem on our end. I was misinformed as to how firm the commitment was to any particular opening act. And, although I have the greatest respect for Aimee as a writer and performer, I thought it might not be the best matchup in terms of musical style."
"But I can't pass the buck," the statement continued. "I'll take the blame for the screwup. I apologize for any distress this has caused Aimee and her fans. In the past, Steely Dan has shared the stage with a number of female performers including Rickie Lee Jones and the late Phoebe Snow."
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