NME - DITTO SLAMS COOL LIST AWARD

DITTO SLAMS COOL LIST AWARD

LATEST: THE GOSSIP frontwoman BETH DITTO has branded journalists at British music magazine NME "chickens", after the publication placed rock band MUSE on the front cover of their annual Cool List edition. The list named Ditto as the coolest person in rock, closely followed by SMILE hitmaker LILY ALLEN at number three, and KAREN O of the YEAH YEAH YEAHS at number five. But Ditto is disgusted NME editor CONOR MCNICHOLAS decided to replace a planned shot of the female stars with a male rock band. She says, "They totally copped out. I think it's disappointing because I actually thought that things were getting somewhere, and they were just too chicken. "I think it's just another weird backhanded gesture towards women in the music industry. And had they all been men, I'm sure it would have made it on the cover." Allen called MCNicholas "sexist" last week (ends24NOV06) following his controversial cover decision.