Grammy award winner Deborah Dugan was fired by the Recording Academy a few weeks after being suspended for alleged misconduct.
The Academy announced the news in a letter to members, citing “consistent management gaps and failures”.
Following his suspension, Dugan filed a complaint accusing his then employer of silencing his concerns about sexual harassment and voting irregularities.
Dugan said she was “disappointed” but “not surprised” to have been fired.
“Although I am disappointed with this latest development, I am not surprised given the way the Academy treats whistleblowers,” she wrote in a statement sent to AFP by its legal team.
“Instead of trying to reform the corrupt institution from the inside, I will continue to work to hold accountable those who continue to self-treat, taint the Grammy voting process and discriminate against women and people of color “, she continued.
“Artists deserve better. For me, it’s the true meaning of” intensifying “.”
The phrase “step up” referred to the now infamous comment by his predecessor Neil Portnow that women should “step up” if they wanted recognition from the music industry.
In announcing the dismissal of Dugan, the academy said its decision followed “two comprehensive and costly independent investigations into Ms. Dugan and the allegations against her and by her.”
He continued: “These inquiries were carried out by experienced persons without prior connection to the Academy, interviewed a total of 37 witnesses and examined numerous relevant documents and emails.
Boys’ club?
“It’s not what we wanted or what we expected when we hired Mr. Dugan last year.”
The letter did not specify what implied Dugan’s alleged behavior, beyond a single charge of intimidation that had come to light when he was suspended.
She also did not respond to many of her allegations, including a complaint of sexual harassment and an accusation of improper voting.
The industry body has previously asked why Dugan did not raise these “serious allegations” until she was accused of harassment.
In 2018, the organization created a working group in response to a major backlash according to which the Grammys are always too masculine and too white.
Dugan was hired in August 2019 to help correct these issues and rejuvenate the institution. But she says she encountered resistance from the start, calling the organization a “network of boys’ clubs where men work together at the expense of women and disenfranchised groups to fill their pockets and maintain a firm grip. on Academy transactions “.
The academy will start looking for a new general manager in the coming days, and said the process would start by looking “carefully to see where the last one got lost.”
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