LOS ANGELES _ Just 10 days before the 62nd annual Grammy Awards, Recording Academy President and Chief Executive Deborah Dugan has exited her position. Dugan had begun her position on Aug. 1 as the first-ever female president of the Record Academy, which oversees the Grammy Awards. Dugan had replaced longtime Record Academy chief executive Neil Portnow, who suggested in 2018 that female artists should "step up" if they wanted to be recognized at the Grammys.
In an internal Recording Academy memorandum, interim Recording Academy President and CEO Harvey Mason Jr. wrote that the "Recording Academy Board of Trustees has placed Recording Academy President and CEO Deborah Dugan on Administrative Leave, effective immediately."
"The Board of Trustees felt this action to be necessary, due to serious concerns that recently were brought to our attention. While we are unable to share the details of the concerns to protect employee privacy, please know that the Board has retained two independent third-party investigators to conduct independent investigations into allegations that have been made."
A source with knowledge of the Recording Academy's operations told the Los Angeles Times that Dugan "didn't fit in, from the get-go."
The Grammys will take place at the Staples Center on Sunday, Jan. 26.
