Jack White has revealed is finally the reluctant owner of a mobile phone for the first time in his life.
The American rockstar and White Stripes frontman, best known for the 2003 hit “Seven Nation Army”, revealed on social media on Wednesday that he was given a smartphone by his partner for his 50th birthday.
“Well y'all it's either all over for me now or just the beginning,” White wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture of himself holding a black iPhone while frowning at the camera, sporting his signature black bob.
“I am now the reluctant owner of a cellular telephone for the first time in my life! A lovely 50th birthday present courtesy of my gorgeous and thoughtful wife, Mrs Olivia Jean (who took these photos as well.)”
White revealed that he had long preferred not having a smartphone, but that had become increasingly difficult in recent years, given the prominence of QR codes for everyday admin, or Bluetooth for streaming music.
“I've been saying that my days were numbered for years, can't listen to my music in my car, can't park at a parking lot by myself because of QR codes, etc,” he said.
“I guess Olivia decided to be kind and put me (and all my loved ones) out of my misery! I thought if I could make it to 50 years old at least without ever having one that I could be proud of myself, and I am,” he added.
He signed off with a joke, saying: “Can't wait to talk to you all soon. My phone number is the square root of all of our combined social interaction times Pi.”
While White has gone without a mobile phone for decades, he has still been active on social media and often uses his platform to voice his opinions on US politics.
White, a vocal opponent of Trump, shared a long post last year expressing his dismay at the 2024 election result, claiming it was “dumbfounding” that Trump had “succeeded in pulling the wool over so many Americans’ eyes not once, but twice”.
White also threatened to sue Trump’s campaign over the use of “Seven Nation Army” last year, when the song was featured in a since-deleted clip posted to X/Twitter by the president’s director of communications, Margo Martin.
“Oh... Don’t even think about using my music you fascists,” White wrote in the caption of the Instagram post. “Lawsuit coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your five thousand others.) Have a great day at work today Margo Martin.”
In September, the band appeared to make good on their threat as White shared the first page of a copyright infringement lawsuit on his Instagram page, captioning it: “This machine sues fascists.”
