Grammy chief Harvey Mason, Jr. apologizes to Tiffany Haddish for "disrespectful" event host invite

Recording Academy interim chief Harvey Mason, Jr. has had to make a number of statements since the 2021 Grammy nominees were announced a couple weeks ago, ranging from “No, we didn’t not snub The Weeknd as some weird punishment” to a rather polite “Justin Bieber’s album is a pop song, despite what he thinks.” His latest message, however, comes with a far more apologetic tone, and rightfully so.

On Thursday morning, Mason took to Instagram to address an issue that actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish raised about an invite she had received to host the music award show’s pre-telecast. Haddish, who is nominated this year for her comedy special Black Mitzvah, told Variety that she ultimately turned the offer down after the organization informed her that she would have to host the three-hour event without compensation. Furthermore, any relevant expenses—hair, makeup, etc.—would not be covered. “All of that would have to come out of my pocket,” she said, adding, “I don’t know if this might mean I might not get nominated ever again, but I think it’s disrespectful.” Though a Recording Academy rep did later claim that the non-CBS event has always been financially covered by the host (because the Recording Academy is a non-profit organization), Mason agreed that the request was in poor taste.