Recording Academy fires ousted CEO, citing investigations

LOS ANGELES — The Recording Academy on Monday fired Deborah Dugan, its former president who called into question the integrity of the Grammy Awards nominations process.

The academy said the decision was reached after “two exhaustive, costly independent investigations” about Dugan and her allegations. It said the reviews found “consistent management deficiencies and failures,” though no specifics were offered.

Dugan had been on administrative leave since mid-January, when she was ousted amid a complaint about her treatment of a longtime Recording Academy employee. Dugan had also raised several issues about the way the organization ran and accused its top lawyers of acting inappropriately toward her during a business meeting.

Dugan’s ouster played out days before the Grammy Awards, which made no mention of her or her allegations of a rigged voting process for some of the ceremony’s top awards.

An email sent to Dugan’s lawyers were not immediately returned.

Dugan detailed her allegations against the Recording Academy in a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The academy said it had engaged in some settlement discussions with Dugan but opted to fire her instead.

“We could not reward her with a lucrative settlement and thereby set a precedent that behaviour like hers has no consequence,” the academy’s executive committee wrote in a letter to members. “Our members and employees, and the entire music industry, deserve better than that.”

The Associated Press