Halsey and Iggy Azalea have joined the stars attacking Recording Academy president Neil Portnow over his call for women to "step up" if they want to win more Grammys.
Portnow made the remark while defending the mostly male winners at Sunday's (28Jan18) prizegiving, and the backlash from female musicians has been cutting and swift.
Pink and Charli XCX were among the first stars to express their anger about the president's comments over the lack of female representation at the Grammy Awards, where only nine per cent of the 899 nominees were women, and now Halsey and Iggy have stepped in to take aim at Portnow.
"Neil’s comment was absurd," Halsey tweeted on Tuesday. "Female artists came HARD in 2017. But the nominees are selected by peers and their opinion of the music. Which means it’s a conversation about the standards of which the ENTIRE INDUSTRY expects women to uphold."
Iggy confessed Portnow had her "heated" with his "women need to step up Grammy-Boys-Club bulls**t statement", and she urged women to boycott next year's awards show if he doesn't make amends.
"Instead of being gracious and wearing white flowers on the carpet (bringing in the viewers for his telecast in designer gowns) women should consider if we NEED to take firmer action and stay at home in PJs (pyjamas) next year... see how that works out for Neil," she tweeted.
Women wore white roses on the red carpet as a symbol of solidarity with those behind the #MeToo and Time's Up anti-harassment movements.
Sheryl Crow has also weighed in on Portnow's controversial "step up" comment, adding: "I wish the #Grammys would return to female/male categories. Who will young girls be inspired by to pick up a guitar and rock when most every category is filled with men?"
