11 December 2020
Newsdesk
Tiffany Haddish has received a public apology from the interim Recording Academy boss after going public with the "disrespectful" offer she received to host the 2021 Grammy Awards pre-show.
The Girls Trip star disclosed that she was approached to present the three-hour event - during which the bulk of the Recording Academy's 83 trophies are handed out before the televised main show - but turned down the offer after learning she would not be paid and would have to foot the cost of her own hair, makeup, and wardrobe.
"All of that would have to come out of my pocket," Tiffany Haddish told Variety.
"I don't know if this might mean I might not get nominated ever again, but I think it's disrespectful. I was like, 'The exposure is amazing but I think I have enough. I appreciate you guys asking'," she shared, adding: "As much as I appreciate the honour of being nominated, that's not OK."
A representative for the Recording Academy told Variety that talent booked for the Grammys Premiere Ceremony are not compensated because it is a production of their not-for-profit organisation, whereas the primetime awards ceremony is funded by U.S. network officials at CBS.
After the news hit headlines on Thursday, Harvey Mason, Jr., the interim chief of the Recording Academy, took to social media to express his apologies, insisting he was unaware such an offer had been made.
"Unfortunately and without my knowing, the talent booker working for the Academy told Ms. Haddish that we wouldn't even cover her costs while she hosted this event for us," he said in a video posted to Instagram.
"To me that was wrong," he continued.
Explaining he had personally reached out to Haddish to apologise, Mason noted his "regret and displeasure" over the incident.
Haddish is among the nominees for the 2021 ceremony - she is up for Best Comedy Album for Black Mitzvah, two years after receiving a nod in 2019 for Best Spoken Word Album for her audiobook The Black Unicorn.
