Deborah Dugan, Recording Academy CEO, Ousted the Week Before Grammys 2020

In response to ousted Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan’s request last week to be released from the arbitration agreement she signed when she took the job, the Academy has agreed to have the dispute heard publicly — however, that agreement is not as liberating as it at first sounds.

Dugan was placed on administrative leave earlier this month

The lineup for the 2020 Firefly Festival in Dover, Delaware has been announced — and it comes stacked with this year’s Grammy’s superstar.

Diddy was recognized with the 2020 Grammy Salute to Industry Icons Award during the Recording Academy and Clive Davis’ annual Pre-GRAMMY Gala on Saturday. 

Ousted Recording Academy CEO/president Deborah Dugan’s attorneys are calling for her to be reinstated and for board chair Harvey Mason to step down if the organization is serious about reform. 

By Bruce Haring

The stage will soon be set and stars will descend down to the Staples Center in Los Angeles on 26 January. Over the years, music aficionados, irrespective of the genre, have keenly looked forward to the big night and get a glimpse of the who's who from the music industry. From pop and rock to country and gospel, the Garmmys recognises all. As the big night approaches, let's take a look at the top five moments from last year. 

Days before the biggest music night commences, the Grammys 2020 is already surrounded by a set of controversies. For the unversed, the Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan was sacked just a few weeks ago before the annual awards show.

Following ousted Recording Academy president/CEO Deborah Dugan’s accusations the organization’s voting procedures are “corrupt,” the organization's board chair and acting CEO Harvey Mason Jr. and chief awards office Bill Freimuth have released a statement ahead of Sunday’s Grammy Awards.

By Erik Pedersen

Ousted Recording Academy president/CEO Deborah Dugan appeared on Thursday's Good Morning America (Jan. 23), where she detailed the reasons behind the discrimination complaint she filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on Tuesday (Jan.

By Dade Hayes

Recording Academy president/CEO Deborah Dugan is booked to appear on tomorrow’s Good Morning America (Jan. 23), Billboard has confirmed. On the show, she's expected to detail her reasons behind why she filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on Tuesday (Jan. 21) against the Academy, after she was placed on administrative leave on Jan. 16 amid allegations of workplace bullying.

Deborah Dugan’s ouster from the top job at the Recording Academy, just ten days before the Grammy Awards, was a shock to nearly everyone not directly involved in the decision. But according to multiple sources and the bombshell complaint her attorneys filed on Tuesday, she and the Academy establishment were working at cross purposes almost from the outset, and tensions had been escalating dramatically for months.

In the latest twist in the ongoing drama around the Recording Academy, ousted CEO Deborah Dugan will appear — live — on “Good Morning America” tomorrow, a rep at the network confirmed to Variety.

Neil Portnow, the former chief of the Recording Academy, has been accused of raping a female artist by his successor, Grammys CEO Deborah Dugan, who was placed on an administrative leave days ago.

In suspended Recording Academy president/CEO Deborah Dugan’s blockbuster Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint filed Tuesday (Jan. 21) that includes allegations of sexual harassment, business improprieties and rape by the organization’s former chief, the most damaging claims in the long run may be about voting irregularities for the Grammy Awards.

She was dismissed for apparent "misconduct" last week

The much-awaited and the biggest music night is only a few days away but Grammys 2020 is embroiled in a controversy like no other. The Recording Academy, which conducts the Grammy Awards, sacked former CEO Deborah Dugan just days before the  awards night.

In May 2018, after Neil Portnow said that women needed to “step up,” the longtime head of the Grammys found himself out of a job. Six months ago, Deborah Dugan—the former CEO of (RED)—was brought on to replace him. That tenure lasted until last week, when she was ousted and put on “administrative leave” under unclear circumstances involving an undisclosed allegation of misconduct.