Grammys President Regrets His ‘Women Step Up’ Comment

The Grammys president faced immense backlash after making a comment that women artists should ‘step up’ after men won almost all the major categories.

By Admin on January 30, 2018
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(Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for NARAS)

At the Grammys, Alessia Cara was the only female artist to win in a major category (Best New Artist).

When Variety asked the Grammys president, Neil Portnow, about the trending hashtag #GrammysSoMale, he said:

“It has to begin with… women who have the creativity in their hearts and souls. Who want to be musicians, who want to be engineers, producers, and want to be part of the industry on the executive level….

[They need] to step up because I think they would be welcome. I don’t have personal experience of those kinds of brick walls that you face but I think it’s upon us — us as an industry — to make the welcome mat very obvious. Breeding opportunities for all people who want to be creative and paying it forward and creating that next generation of artists.”

He was hit with immense criticism for his comments. Female artists like Pink, Katy Perry, and Charli XCX and more responded on social media.

Portnow has released an official statement regarding his initial comment:

“Last night, I was asked a question about the lack of female artist representation in certain categories of this year’s Grammy Awards. Regrettably, I used two words, ‘step up,’ that, when taken out of context, do not convey my beliefs and the point I was trying to make.

“Our industry must recognize that women who dream of careers in music face barriers that men have never faced. We must actively work to eliminate these barriers and encourage women to live their dreams and express their passion and creativity through music. We must welcome, mentor and empower them. Our community will be richer for it.

“I regret that I wasn’t as articulate as I should have been in conveying this thought. I remain committed to doing everything I can to make our music community a better, safer, and more representative place for everyone.”

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