Yesterday (24th November), the nominations for the 2022 Grammy Awards were revealed, with the likes of Billie Eilish, Doja Cat and Justin Bieber dominating. Among the sprawling list of nominees, however, two names stuck out – Marilyn Manson and Louis C.K., both who are up for awards next year.
Manson, who is currently facing multiple lawsuits for alleged sexual assault and abuse, is up for a nomination for his contribution to Kanye West‘s latest album, Donda – he features on a version of album track ‘Jail’. CK – who admitted to several incidents of sexual misconduct in 2017 – was nominated in the Best Comedy Album category for his special, Sincerely Louis CK, his first since the allegations.
When questioned about the nominations (specifically Manson’s) by The Wrap, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. defended the Grammys’ voting process, saying the nominations do not take into account artists’ personal history.
“We won’t restrict the people who can submit their material for consideration,” Mason said. “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.”
While artists’ history won’t affect their eligibility for nomination, Mason did indicate the Academy were more judicious over who they invited to attend the awards ceremony itself.
“What we will control is our stages, our shows, our events, our red carpets,” he added. “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.”
Next year’s Grammys are set to take place on Monday, 31st January 2022.
