Complaints about the Recording Academy have been received by the attorney general and are being examined following allegations of corruption and rape cover up.
- February 9, 2020
AceShowbiz - California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is examining a number of complaints about the Recording Academy's governance structure.
The organisation has been shrouded in controversy since chief executive Deborah Dugan was put on administrative leave last month, January 2020 after just five months on the job, after making an allegation of misconduct.
She then fired back with a sexual harassment lawsuit against the Academy's General Counsel, and made various serious accusations about the academy - including questioning the integrity of their voting process for the Grammy Awards.
According to Billboard, Becerra's office has not formally launched an investigation, but the state attorney general's office has received several complaints regarding the organisation's board of trustees, the power of the academy's executive committee and their approval of expenditures of millions of dollars in legal fees to two powerful law firms, as well its handling of a rape investigation of its former president and CEO Neil Portnow.
Officials with the Recording Academy insisted they are unaware of any investigation, telling Billboard, "We have not been contacted about any such review by the Attorney General or any other agency."
The complaints also urged Becerra to look into the Recording Academy's large expenditures, including $770,000 designated for hospitality at an event in September 2016 at the Four Seasons in Westlake Village. Officials from the Recording Academy insisted money is spent "judiciously."
The state's inquiry comes as the Recording Academy pursues an investigation of its own into issues cited in Dugan's allegations of voting irregularities in the nomination process, sexual harassment and conflicts of interest within the board of trustees.
