The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has placed its president and CEO, Deborah Dugan, on administrative leave in a major shakeup at the organization less than two weeks before this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony.
A statement released by the Recording Academy’s board of trustees referred to “a formal allegation of misconduct by a senior female member of the Recording Academy team” and said it had placed Dugan “on administrative leave, effective immediately.”
The statement did not specify the nature of the allegation, nor who is accused of committing the misconduct.
Dugan became the Recording Academy’s first female CEO less than six months ago. She followed Neil Portnow, who led the group for 17 years, but sparked controversy with a comment after the 2018 show that women needed to “step up” to get ahead in the music industry.
“The board has also retained two independent third-party investigators to conduct independent investigations of the allegations,” the statement said.