— P!nk (@Pink) January 29, 2018
Singer Pink took to Twitter to express her anger after the Recording Academy president, Neil Portnow, said that female artists need to “step up” if they want equal representation at the Grammys.
“Women in music don’t need to ‘step up’—women have been stepping since the beginning of time,” reads Pink’s handwritten letter. “Stepping up, and also stepping aside. Women OWNED music this year. They’ve been KILLING IT. And every year before this. When we celebrate and honor the talent and accomplishments of women, and how much women STEP UP every year, and how much women STEP UP every year, against all odds, we show the next generation of women and girls and boys and men what it means to be equal, and what it looks like to be fair.”
Portnow’s comment about “stepping up” came after the Grammys were criticized for disproportionately awarding and highlighting male singers. The Grammys did have a great year when it came to representation for black men, who have also been historically sidelined by this awards show. I didn’t think we’d ever get to a point where the out-of-touch Recording Academy honored an album like DAMN, so that was welcome. That’s an awesome step forward.
However, the hashtag #GrammysSoMale popped up due to the repeated snubs of women like Cardi B and Kesha, and due to the fact that Lorde, the only woman nominated for Album of the Year, was also reportedly the only one of those nominees who wasn’t asked to perform solo. (Meanwhile, Sting – who wasn’t up for any awards – sang twice. Okay, then.)
Asked by Variety to react to the hashtag #GrammysSoMale, Recording Academy president Neil Portnow infamously 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.”
As Pink so rightly pointed out, women have been stepping up. But even when they “step up” so that they’re nominated for Album of the Year, the Grammys aren’t interested.
(Via Jezebel; image: JStone / Shutterstock.com)
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