19 December 2020
Newsdesk
Fiona Apple has taken aim at Recording Academy chiefs for nominating controversial producer Dr. Luke for the prestigious Record of the Year prize at the 2021 awards.
Luke has been locked in a nasty legal battle with pop star Kesha since 2014 when she accused him of sexual and emotional abuse - allegations he has vehemently denied.
Kesha was invited to perform her moving track Praying, believed to be about her reported ordeal with Luke, at the 2018 Grammy Awards, but now the producer is nominated for his work on Doja Cat's Say So, under his pseudonym Tyson Trax.
Apple, a rape survivor, said she cannot believe the hypocrisy.
"Really, Dr Luke is nominated? They had (Kesha) up there singing Praying, and now they're gonna go: 'Oh, but it's Tyson Trax!'" she told The Guardian.
Despite her Grammys criticism, Apple, who is up for three prizes at the upcoming ceremony, is excited about having all-female acts to compete against for Best Rock Performance.
"I immediately had this feeling: I wish I was in a room with these ladies and we could celebrate. I felt really nice for a second," she shared but added that joy didn't last long as she was drawn back to the Kesha and Luke controversy.
"I keep going back to them putting Kesha on stage like, 'We believe you' - and I believe her - then two years later, f**king Tyson Trax. Not to go back to that word, but it's bulls**t," Apple fumed.
"The feeling of wanting to celebrate with these women was genuine. But I should have that feeling anyway," she asserted.
Explaining: "I don't know if anybody whos nominated can help having the thought: What would I do if I won?" Apple went on: "My vision was that I would just get up there with a sledgehammer and I wouldn't say anything, I would take the Grammy and smash it into enough pieces to share and I would invite all the ladies up."
She continued: "My second thought was I wonder if I can get all these ladies to boycott this s**t because of Dr Luke."
Recording Academy officials have yet to respond to Apple's comments.
