Deborah Dugan, who was placed on administrative leave from her post as chairman/CEO of the Recording Academy in January after accusations of “misconduct” toward an employee sources say was her former assistant, has been terminated, the organization announced today in a letter to members.
The move is not a surprise, as Dugan, who was placed on leave just days before the Grammy Awards, fiercely disputed the Academy’s version of events in a legal complaint and several statements, which accuse the organization of multiple instances of misconduct, including improprieties in the Grammy voting procedure, “egregious conflicts of interest, improper self-dealing by Board members… and a ‘boys’ club’ mentality”; “exorbitant” legal fees paid to outside law firms; and that attorney Joel Katz, an Academy executive affiliated with one of those law firms, attempted to “woo” and kiss her. Her complaint also brought forth an accusation that her predecessor, Neil Portnow, raped an unnamed female artist; Portnow later admitted the accusation but said he was exonerated after a third-party investigation. Sources have told Variety that Dugan’s ouster was more of a “coup” by executives and officers at the Academy, who felt threatened by her agenda for change in the organization and disapproved of her management style. Dugan served in the role for just over five months.
Her complaint also states that in January her attorneys and the Academy had nearly negotiated a peaceful exit, but disagreed over a severance amount — which sources say was initially $8 million, in line with her employment contract, but was abruptly withdrawn and replaced with a much smaller offer by the Academy. She was placed on administrative leave shortly afterward.
(Excerpt) Read more in: Variety