Phoebe Bridgers of Boygenius slammed the former head of the recording academy, Neil Portnow, backstage at the Grammys Sunday night.
The trio was asked about women shaping the future of rock music, and Bridgers responded by saying, "I have something to say about women. The ex-president of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow, said that if women want to be nominated and win Grammys that they should ‘step up.’ He’s also been accused of sexual violence. To him I’d like to say: I know you’re not dead yet, but when you are, rot in piss."
Portnow, who made the "step up" comments in 2018, has been accused of sexual assault by anonymous accuser who filed a suit claiming that Portnow drugged and raped her in a New York hotel room months after the two met in 2018. The accuser also sued the Academy, claiming that the organization “aided and abetted Portnow’s conduct to protect their reputations and silence Plaintiff’s and other women in the music industry who have stood up and spoken up.” P:ortnow has denied the allegations.