CEO says she was ousted after complaint
Deborah Dugan detailed sexual harassment in an email to an academy human resources executive on Dec. 22.
LOS ANGELES >> The ousted Grammys CEO fired back at the Recording Academy, alleging that she was removed after complaining about sexual harassment and pay disparities and for calling out conflicts of interest in the nomination process for music’s most prestigious awards.
Lawyers for Deborah Dugan, who was placed on administrative leave last week after six months in the job, filed the discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission just five days before the Grammy Awards. She alleged she was sexually harassed by the academy’s general counsel, Joel Katz, who denied her account.
Dugan detailed the harassment and other issues in an email to an academy human resources executive on Dec. 22, according to the complaint.
The complaint also stated that Dugan was paid less than former academy CEO Neil Portnow, who left the post last year, and that she was also subject to retaliation for refusing to hire Portnow as a consultant for nearly half his former salary.
Portnow had been criticized for saying women need to “step up” when asked backstage at the 2018 show why only two female acts won awards during the live telecast. Portnow called his comments a “poor choice of words” and later said he chose not to seek an extension on his contract.
A filing with the Internal Revenue Service shows that Portnow was paid $1.74 million in 2016. Dugan said she was pressured to hire him as a consultant for $750,000 annually. Dugan’s Grammys compensation was not revealed in Tuesday’s filing. She earned nearly $537,000 in 2016 in her previous job as CEO of Bono’s (RED) charity organization.
Last week, the academy said Dugan was put on leave following an allegation of misconduct by a senior leader at the organization.
On Tuesday, the academy said the issue was a complaint by a female employee that Dugan had been “abusive” and created a “toxic and intolerable” work environment.
Dugan’s attorneys called that accusation false, saying there was no mistreatment and identifying the employee as the executive assistant she inherited from Portnow.
In her Dec. 22 email, Dugan called the academy “a boys’ club.”
While trying to resolve a lawsuit against the academy, Dugan said one of the claimants characterized the organization’s leadership as “a boys’ club” that “put their financial interest above the mission.”