Grammys CEO Deborah Dugan FIRED By The Recording Academy
Welp, just a month after Deborah Dugan, CEO of the Grammys was put on “administrative leave,” The Recording Academy has finally decided to let her go.
Dugan’s firing comes after she claimed she was sexually harassed by the organization’s top attorney and also after she sent a memo to the academy’s Human Resources department spelling out issues inside the academy, including alleged voting irregularities, financial mismanagement, as well as conflicts of interest.
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In a statement obtained by The Associated Press, the Academy said the decision to fire Dugan was reached after “two exhaustive, costly independent investigations” into her allegations. It said the reviews found “consistent management deficiencies and failures.” However, no specifics were shared.
“The investigation overwhelmingly confirmed the serious complaints that had been lodged against her by a multitude of academy staff members,” Tammy Hurt, vice-chair of the academy’s National Board of Trustees, said in a statement. “The damage she has caused this organization is truly heartbreaking.”
Now, Dugan did offer a statement to Fox News, pointing out that she was not even interviewed during the investigations:
“I was recruited and hired by the Recording Academy to make positive change; unfortunately, I was not able to do that as its CEO. While I am disappointed by this latest development, I am not surprised given the Academy’s pattern of dealing with whistleblowers,” read Dugan’s statement. “Is anyone surprised that its purported investigations did not include interviewing me or addressing the greater claims of conflicts of interest and voting irregularities?”
She went on to say,
“So, instead of trying to reform the corrupt institution from within, I will continue to work to hold accountable those who continue to self-deal, taint the Grammy voting process and discriminate against women and people of color. Artists deserve better. To me, this is the real meaning of ‘stepping up,’” Fox News quotes.
Dugan had also been on administrative leave since mid-January when she was ousted amid a complaint about her treatment of a longtime Recording Academy employee. In a discrimination complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Dugan had also raised several issues about the way the organization ran and accused its top lawyers of acting inappropriately toward her during a business meeting.
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