Petition Demanding Recording Academy Head Resign After ‘Women Must Step Up’ Comment Nears 10K Signatures
A petition demanding the Recording Academy President Neil Portnow resign had 9653 signatures as of Wednesday. The calls for the Academy's long term leader came after his response to the lack of women nominated for Grammys this year was that they needed to "step up" if they want to be in the music industry.
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"After only one woman won a major award at the 2018 Grammy Awards, Recording Academy President Neil Portnow said that women need to "step up" if they want to be in the music industry. " begins an online petition with almost 10,000 signatutres demanding his resignation.
"Please show your support for female musicians," the petition continued, "and women trying to break through in all areas of the music industry, by signing this petition demanding that Neil Portnow resign from The Recording Academy now."
Portnow has tried step back from his original tone deaf comment. But his self-defense, which implied that "step up" had been taken out of context and articulating his belief that, "We must actively work to eliminate these barriers and encourage women to live their dreams…," failed to offer a full throated apology. "I regret that I wasn't as articulate as I should have been in conveying this thought," Portnow said in a statement.
"With someone like Neil Portnow at the helm of The Recording Academy,"concludes the petition, "women in music will never gain the recognition they deserve – no matter how much they "step up" or "lean in."
Read and sign the full petition here.
