It was five years ago, when former Recording Academy CEO Neil Portnow told reporters backstage at the 2018 Grammys that women needed to “step up” for representation at the show after only men won in the major categories. Phoebe Bridgers has not forgotten.
“I have something to say about women,” Bridgers said afterward Rolling rock she and Boygenius members Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus asked her about the women shaping the future of rock music when they came into the Grammy press room. “Former president of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow, said that if women want to be nominated and win Grammys, they should 'step up.' He was also accused of sexual violence. I'd like to say to him: I know you're not dead yet, but when you are, you're rotting in the gutter.”
As Dacus added: “I think it's very rock and roll.”
As Bridgers reported, Portnow faces sexual assault allegations dating back to June 2018. An anonymous Jane Doe accuser filed a lawsuit alleging Portnow drugged and raped her in a New York hotel room months after the two met. The accuser also sued the Academy, alleging that the organization “aided and abetted Portnow's conduct to protect their reputation and silence the Complainant and other women in the music industry who stood up and spoke out.”
Last week, Bridgers he said The Associated Press that “it was only a few years ago now that this (expletive) who is now accused of sexual assault said that women need to step it up if they want to run.”
A spokesperson for Portnow denied the claims at the time, calling them “completely false”. A representative of the Recording Academy said so Rolling rock while “we continue to believe the allegations are without merit and intend to vigorously defend the Academy in this lawsuit.”
Portnow wasn't the only former Grammy head accused of sexual assault in recent months. His predecessor Mike Green also sued in December, with former colleague Terri McIntyre alleging he assaulted her multiple times.
According to a report in Los Angeles Times this week, former Recording Academy lawyer Joel Katz – who was honored at a Grammy event this week – had offered McIntyre a $1 million payout to shut her up.
While the Academy's toxic past continues to resurface, this year represented a major shift from Portnow's comments in 2018. While only one woman won in the Big Four that year — Alessia Cara for Best New Artist — it was an all-out sweep of women year as Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Victoria Monet and Billie Eilish cleaned up. And specifically in rock, Boygenius took home best rock performance, rock song and alternative album. Paramore, fronted by Hayley Williams, took alternative music performance and best rock album, beating out legends like Metallica and Foo Fighters in the process.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/phoebe-bridgers-calls-out-ex-grammy-ceo-1234961277/
