A musician has sued the former head of the organization behind the Grammy Awards on Wednesday, accusing him of drugging and raping her in 2018.
According to New York Times, the musician who refused to be named to maintain privacy filed the suit in Manhattan indicting Neil Portnow — who stepped down as head of the Recording Academy in 2019 over his disparaging comments toward women — of sexual battery.
The suit also accused the Academy of negligence.
In a statement to AFP, the Recording Academy vowed to “vigorously defend the Academy in this lawsuit.” “We continue to believe the claims to be without merit,” it said.A representative for Portnow did not immediately reply to AFP, but in the Times story, he flatly denied the allegations.
The executive left the Academy in 2019 after his controversial comments on women ”Stepping up” to gain more recognition for their work in the industry sparked an outrage.
The singer’s suit had revived the criticisms of both Portnow and the Academy, sparking afresh conversations about the occurrence.
In the court documents that surfaced, the female singer explained that she met Portnow in 2018, at a Grammy-related event in New York, after which she alleged that he invited her to his hotel room and gave her a glass of wine, which she drank before beginning “to feel woozy,”
She said that the former executive refused to share the drink with her, after which, she tried to leave but Portnow said there were no taxis.
She said she lost consciousness shortly after the former executive told her:
“I have been thinking about you for a very long time.”According to the content of the lawsuit, the woman reported waking up multiple times during the night, feeling that Portnow was raping her.
The singer said Portnow’s dominance in the industry made her concerned but that months later, she went to the Academy and gave her account to the officials but was ignored her.
The suit also noted that the singer later filed a police report against Portnow, but the law enforcement authorities at the time refused to prosecute.
In 2020, the accusation initially surfaced when Deborah Dugan, who had taken over as the head of the Recording Academy after Portnow, lodged a high-impact discrimination complaint against the institution.
Her extensive 44-page submission alleged that she was suspended for speaking up about issues such as sexual harassment, irregularities in voting, and other inappropriate behavior within the influential music organization. Dugan’s complaint also contained the rape claim, which Portnow refuted during that period.
