Grammys Chief defends Marilyn Manson and Louis CK's nominations

When the Recording Academy revealed the list of nominees for the 2022 Grammys, Marilyn Manson, and Louis CK were among those up for an award. CK was nominated under Best Comedy Album and Manson was included under Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song for his collaboration with Kanye West on the rapper’s album, Donda.

Both Manson and CK have been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct, and Rolling Stone recently published an investigative piece detailing the horrific allegations from numerous women who say they experienced rape and other forms of physical abuse throughout their relationships with Manson.

The Wrap reached out to The Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. for comment about these nominations and here was his response:

“We won’t restrict the people who can submit their material for consideration. We won’t look back at people’s history, we won’t look at their criminal record, we won’t look at anything other than the legality within our rules of, is this recording for this work eligible based on date and other criteria. If it is, they can submit for consideration.

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What we will control is our stages, our shows, our events, our red carpets. We’ll take a look at anyone who is asking to be a part of that, asking to be in attendance, and we’ll make our decisions at that point. But we’re not going to be in the business of restricting people from submitting their work for our voters to decide on.”

It’s puzzling that the Recording Academy would choose to avoid looking into the “history” and criminal record of artists who have allegedly committed horrific crimes—especially considering Manson has even been dropped from his label Loma Vista Records in light of the allegations.

In case Mason Jr. and anyone else needs a refresher, when Evan Rachel Wood first spoke about her experience with Manson while giving testimony to the California Senate in support of the Phoenix Act, she offered some horrific details about her alleged experience with the musician:

I mustered the courage to leave several times, but he would call my house incessantly and threaten to kill himself. On one occasion, I returned to try and defuse the situation, he cornered me in our bedroom, and asked me to kneel. Then he tied me up by my hands and feet. Once I was restrained he beat me and shocked sensitive parts of my body with a torture device called a violet wand. To him it was a way for me to prove my loyalty. The pain was excruciating. It felt like I left my body and a part of me died that day.

The stories from the other women—including Game Of Thrones actor Esmé Bianco—also mirror Wood’s allegations. These Grammy nomination send a clear message: there are no consequences for the actions of abusive men in the music industry.