Yesterday, Time Out Londonpublished an extensive excerpt from Grace Jones' forthcoming autobiography, titled I'll Never Write My Memoirs, due out Sept. 29. This morning, for reasons that aren't immediately clear, Time Out London deleted its longer excerpt of Jones' book and replaced it with a single paragraph citation in which Jones simply notes that Beyoncé,Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Sia, and even Madonna have all adopted elements of her modeling style and general aesthetic. The original excerpt was widely shared before via Twitter and Facebook before Time Out London replaced it with this shorter, relatively tepid excerpt.
In the fuller, deleted version of the memoir excerpt, Jones argues that both Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus, mutual foes of the moment, are poorly suited for longevity as performers. "There is no long-term vision," Jones writes, "and they forget that once you get into that whirlpool then you have to fight the system that solidifies around you in order to keep being the outsider you claim you represent."
In discussion of her own cultural impact, Jones identifies Cyrus, Gaga, FKA twigs, Kanye West, Annie Lennox, Madonna, Katy Perry, and an anonymous "Doris" (Beyoncé?) as her "pupils."
"I have been so copied by those people who have made fortunes that people assume I am that rich," Jones writes. "But I did things for the excitement, the dare, the fact that it was new, not for the money, and too many times I was the first, not the beneficiary."
Read the full, original excerpt of Grace Jones' forthcoming autobiography, I'll Never Write My Memoirs, here; and, for comparison's sake, read Time Out London's updated article here.
