Machismo, misogyny and other great scandals that have haunted the Grammys
Between controversial statements by managers, dismissals and lawsuits, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States has tried to redeem itself in recent years
This coming Sunday, April 3, the 64th edition of the Grammy Awards will take place, the highest award ceremony for the highlights of recorded music. But like many other events of this type, over the years the awards given by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States have been overshadowed by various controversies.
And it is that in past years this ceremony has been harshly criticized for being sexist. It could be said that one of the most critical moments regarding these accusations began in 2018, when during the well-known MeToo movement, these awards were highlighted by the lack of women both as hosts of the event and as nominees.
Even Neil Portrow, executive president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States, took a position on the matter during the 2018 Grammys ceremony and pointed out in a controversial speech that women should "improve their performance."
But before these statements, the artists did not remain silent. Such was the case of the singer of Pink who pointed out that she did not agree with what was stated during said event: “We women of music do not need to make more effort, because women have made a lot of effort since the beginning of time. Women have dominated music this year, they have done great, ”she said at the time from her Twitter account.
Due to the great scandal that arose, Portrow issued a statement in which he acknowledged that he had a "bad choice of words" and assured that, for the next editions, a special work team would be created to counteract the imbalances and barriers that prevented women are more successful in the music industry.
Those would be the last steps for Neil in charge of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, because although for 2019 the Grammys were presented by Alicia Keys and even Michelle Obama was on stage, by August of that year, Deborah Dugan She established herself as the first female president of the Grammys in history, definitively replacing Portrow.
Although it might seem that from this point on the controversy surrounding the awards could stop and they would be fairer to women, a few months after his appointment it was announced that Dugan had been placed on "administrative leave" with "immediate effect". ” for complaints of harassment and indications of a toxic work environment by a female worker.
When that news broke, shortly after Deborah appeared on the Good Morning America program where she mentioned that her dismissal was not a mere coincidence, since she had denounced that an important person had tried to abuse her during a dinner and that was the real reason why. who had lost his job.
However, it did not end there because later Dugan went to legal instances and formally sued the organization before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This, a few days before the 62nd Grammy Awards took place. She alleged that her dismissal happened after speaking out about the sexual harassment she suffered and for delving into irregularities that she allegedly had in the nominations.
It is worth mentioning that after postponing the event on more than one occasion due to the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this 2022 will return in its face-to-face format and promises to surprise viewers with a great show from the red carpet prior to entering the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, to the driving and musical presentations of the artists of the moment.
