American singer Pink released a public statement on her social media page to convey to the president of the Grammys, Neil Portnow, her disapproval of the trending hashtag #GrammysSoMale. The statement that was released by Pink was a handwritten one, and it was received well by the public and backed by other prominent women in the music industry.
Portnow initially received backlash for stating that women "need to step up" at the Grammy Awards this year, since most of the awards were taken home mostly by male artists. In her official Twitter account, the 38-year-old singer stated that women have never ceased to work hard, and, apparently, took offense to the phrase "stepping up." Furthermore, Pink reminded everyone that the female artists worked hard this year, like every other year.
The tweet by Pink was published last Monday, Jan. 29. Pink's statement was in line with the grievances of other female artists, such as Sheryl Crow, who do not approve of Portnow's explanation as to why so few women were able to win Grammy awards this year. It is important to mention that Pink was nominated for Best Solo Pop performance — a category wherein most nominees were women. British singer Ed Sheeran ended up winning the award.
During an interview after the awards ceremony, Portnow suggested in his statement that it is the female artists' fault for not winning as much awards this year compared to male artists. In fact, only 11 out of the 84 Grammy awards were given to women, including Alesia Cara, who won the category for Best New Artist. Following the rise of the "MeToo" and "Time's Up" movements, Portnow's statements were deemed by the public as insensitive.
After the backlash that Portnow received, he issued a public apology for being unable to properly express his thoughts on the matter. Additionally, Portnow also recognized that women in the music industry have a much harder time compared to men, and that it is time to be aware of this fact to make women's lives in the business easier.
