The Recording Academy is apologizing to Tiffany Haddish after she called out the Grammys for inviting her to host a ceremony but refusing to pay her for the gig or even for her hair, makeup, and wardrobe.
During an interview with Variety published on Wednesday (December 9), the actress and comedian said she turned down an offer to host the Grammys pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony because she was told she would have to pay for all expenses related to the three-hour livestream without any compensation.
“All of that would have to come out of my pocket,” she told the outlet. “I don’t know if this might mean I might not get nominated ever again, but I think it’s disrespectful.”
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“I was like, ‘The exposure is amazing but I think I have enough. I appreciate you guys asking. And as much as I appreciate the honor of being nominated, that’s not OK,” the 2021 nominee best comedy album added.
Harvey Mason Jr., the Interim Recording Academy President and CEO, posted an apology video to Instagram early Thursday morning. Unbeknownst to him, a talent booker for the academy told Haddish they wouldn’t cover the costs, according to Mason.
“To me, that was wrong,” he said. “I’m frustrated by that decision. It was a lapse in judgement, it was in poor taste and it was disrespectful to the creative community. I’m part of the creative community. I know what that feels like, and it’s not right.”
Mason says he’s thankful for a conversation he had with Haddish after the Variety interview happened. “I apologized to her personally and I apologized to her from the Academy, I expressed to her my regret and my displeasure about how this went down and about how this was handled,” he revealed. “Again, I want to say Tiffany, we are sorry and thank you for allowing me to speak on it.”
See Harvey Mason Jr.’s Instagram post below:
