The Daily Mail has been accused of stalking a woman it wrongly identified as former White Stripes drummer Meg White in a report about her supposed “secret new life,” according to NME.
As reported by The Guardian, the newspaper claimed it had tracked down White and published more than a dozen photos of the woman, presenting them as the first public images of White in 17 years. The story was later removed from the Daily Mail website.
The report said the journalist approached the woman and asked if she was White. She reportedly laughed and said he was mistaken, but the article still treated her as the drummer after she said “thank you” when the reporter complimented The White Stripes’ music.
Multiple sources have since identified the woman as a friend of White, though she has not been publicly named. A music label executive close to both women told The Guardian that neither of them knew they were being followed, while Karen Elson called the newspaper’s actions “reckless and cruel” in a deleted social media post.
The Daily Mail has removed the article and images, but according to the report it has not issued a correction or apology. Meg White has largely stayed out of the spotlight since The White Stripes split in 2011.
