‘INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED’
The anonymous accuser also claims the Recording Academy “aided and abetted Portnow’s behavior to guard their reputations.”
Up as a lot as now Nov. 08, 2023 5:27PM EST / Published Nov. 08, 2023 4:50PM EST
Ticket Von Holden/Range by skill of Getty Pictures
Neil Portnow, the old CEO of the Recording Academy, became once sued in Contemporary York on Wednesday by a woman who says he drugged and raped her in 2018.
The accuser goes unnamed within the lawsuit, obtained by The Day-to-day Beast, nonetheless is described as an “internationally acclaimed musician, inventor, and old member of The Recording Academy.” As well to accusing Portnow of sexual assault, she also accuses the Recording Academy—the nonprofit team within the aid of the Grammys—of “encourage[ing] and abet[ing] Portnow’s behavior to guard their reputations and silence Plaintiff’s and varied females within the track replace who possess stood up and spoken up.”
The Recording Academy talked about in a press unlock to The Day-to-day Beast on Wednesday: “We continue to keep in mind the claims to be without merit and intend to vigorously protect the Academy on this lawsuit.”
In the swimsuit, the anonymous accuser says she met Portnow in January 2018 at a Recording Academy match. That June, she says she requested the then-CEO if she would perchance perchance interview him for a magazine article, and he invited her to meet him at his Contemporary york resort to behavior the interview. There, Portnow allegedly offered her wine, nonetheless failed to drink any himself.
Almost today after drinking the wine, the accuser’s lawsuit claims, she “began to in actual fact feel woozy and had danger focusing her eyes. … Her legs were shaking, and she or he became once unable to manipulate her physique.” Portnow allegedly “beg[ged] her to preserve” and then “tried to kiss and rubdown Plaintiff’s physique.” The girl alleges in her swimsuit that she tried to push Portnow away, and indirectly misplaced consciousness.
“On separate times correct during the night,” the swimsuit states, “Plaintiff regained consciousness momentarily. Each time, Plaintiff became once in Portnow’s resort bed. Each time, Portnow became once sexually assaulting Plaintiff. One time when Plaintiff regained consciousness, she awakened to Portnow forcing Plaintiff’s hand to manipulate his penis, telling her that it became once ‘okay.’ Portnow then forcibly penetrated Plaintiff’s vagina with his penis.”
Based fully on the swimsuit, the girl aroused from sleep the next day in Portnow’s bed and “escaped” his resort room after he left to rob a gathering.
The girl later allegedly tried to contact Portnow several times to search files from what had took space that night, nonetheless by no draw heard aid from him. That October, she says she emailed the Recording Academy to bid them of the alleged sexual assault, nonetheless she became once by no draw interviewed as segment of an investigation by the Recording Academy. Her swimsuit accuses the academy of negligence, and consists of redacted correspondence she had with the organization in 2018 on the subject of her accusations in opposition to Portnow.
The girl filed a police document in December 2018 that named Portnow, per the swimsuit. Her accusations were first made public in January 2020, in a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In that complaint, Deborah Dugan—who modified Portnow as Recording Academy CEO after he stepped down in 2019—talked about that Portnow “allegedly raped a female recording artist, which became once, upon knowledge and belief, the particular reason his contract became once now not renewed.”
At the time, Portnow replied to the complaint by asserting: “The allegations of rape are ludicrous, and counterfeit. The recommendation that there became once is disseminating a lie. The baseless complaint about my behavior referenced within the EEOC filing became once without lengthen delivered to the consideration of the Board of Director’s Govt Committee. An in-depth self reliant investigation by experienced and extremely popular legal professionals became once performed and I became once entirely exonerated. There became once no basis for the allegations and once extra I state them unequivocally.”
The lawsuit on Wednesday claims that as a outcome of the alleged sexual assault, the accuser has “suffered severe emotional, physical and psychological ache, including shame, guilt, economic loss of incomes skill, and emotional loss.”
The lawsuit also cites Portnow’s harmful “step up” comments from 2018 on the subject of female artists. The then-president and CEO came below fire after he became once requested about the lack of female artist illustration at that one year’s Grammy Awards and beneficial a reporter that females “prefer to step up because I possess they’d perchance be welcome.” His commentary incited ire from musicians esteem Halsey and Alicia Keys, and he later walked aid his comments.
Portnow stepped down as Recording Academy CEO in July 2019, after 17 years. His departure came after he became once accused by a high-ranking old employee of guidance money away from the Grammys’ charity,