Ousted CEO Deborah Dugan Files Discrimination Charge Against Recording Academy

On January 21, the law firm Wigdor LLP filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Deborah Dugan, the former CEO and President of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the awards body behind the Grammys. This news comes five days before the annual Grammy Awards on January 26, in response to being abruptly put on “leave of absence” by the Academy last week over allegations of misconduct. The filing claims that Dugan faced unlawful gender discrimination, sexual harassment, unlawful retaliation, and unequal pay. The firm released a statement from attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and Michael J. Willemin, which reads:

“The complaint that we filed today against the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (the Grammys) highlights tactics reminiscent of those deployed by individuals defending Harvey Weinstein. As we allege, the attempt by the Recording Academy to impugn the character of Deborah Dugan is a transparent effort to shift the focus away from its own unlawful activity. This blatant form of retaliation in corporate America is all too common, even post #MeToo, and we will utilize all lawful means necessary to ensure that those responsible are held accountable for their actions.”

This statement comes one day after her interim replacement at the Academy, Harvey Mason Jr., published a letter to the Grammy website which stated that Dugan only made “unsubstantiated” allegations against the Academy “after we received the employee complaints against Ms. Dugan,” and offered to “withdraw” these claims only if she “was paid millions of dollars.” A representative for Wigdor calls this letter a “false, retaliatory, and defamatory” attempt to discredit the discrimination charges and “further destroy Ms. Dugan’s reputation.”