The Recording Academy has apologized after Tiffany Haddish slammed the Grammys for asking her to host, but refusing to pay for her time, makeup or wardrobe.
Haddish, who was nominated for best comedy album, spoke out to Variety, saying she’d turned down the offer to host the pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony.
All of that would have to come out of my pocket,” she told Variety. “I don’t know if this might mean I might not get nominated ever again, but I think it’s disrespectful.”
“I was like, ‘The exposure is amazing but I think I have enough. I appreciate you guys asking. And as much as I appreciate the honor of being nominated, that’s not OK.” Haddish added.
Harvey Mason Jr., the interim president and CEO of the Recording Academy, posted a statement apologizing, saying that the offer was made by a talent booker without his knowledge.
“To me, that was wrong,” Mason said. “I'm frustrated by that decision. It was a lapse in judgement, it was in poor taste and it was disrespectful to the creative community. I'm part of the creative community. I know what that feels like, and it's not right.”
Mason said he reached out to Haddish himself. “I apologized to her personally and I apologized to her from the academy, I expressed to her my regret and my displeasure about how this went down and about how this was handled,” Mason said. “Again, I want to say Tiffany, we are sorry and thank you for allowing me to speak on it.”