Grammys 2024: Phoebe Bridgers tells Neil Portnow to “rot in piss”
Alongside winning three awards at the 66th edition of the Grammys with Boygenius, Phoebe Bridgers told the ex-CEO of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow, to “rot in piss” backstage at the ceremony.
Bridgers’ comments followed a widely successful night for Boygenius, the rock supergroup comprised of herself, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus. At the awards night, they won three awards for their contribution to music in 2023 in the form of ‘Best Alternative Music Album,’ ‘Best Rock Performance’ and ‘Best Rock Song’.
The ceremony took place on February 4th at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Taking to the stage alongside her bandmates to accept the prize for ‘Best Alternative Music Album’, Bridgers said: “What the hell, this is so incredible, we’re just screaming backstage. It’s just been a constant scream.” The band beat Arctic Monkeys, Gorillaz, Lana Del Rey and PJ Harvey to the award
Elsewhere, with ‘Not Strong Enough’, Boygenius won ‘Best Rock Performance’, beating Arctic Monkeys with ‘Sculptures of Anything Goes,’ Black Pumas with ‘More Than a Love Song,’ Foo Fighters with ‘Rescued’ and Metallica with ‘Lux Aeterna.’ The track also took home ‘Best Rock Song’.
Following such an emphatic night at the Grammys, backstage when speaking to Billboard, Bridgers addressed the sexual assault allegation that was brought against the ex-CEO of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow, last year.
On November 8th, a legal action was instituted against Portnow by an unidentified woman about an incident that allegedly occurred in 2018. The lawsuit also holds the Recording Academy accountable for negligence. The woman is an internationally recognised musician who asserts that she met Portnow in a hotel room after a show at New York’s Carnegie Hall for an interview.
She claims that he gave her a drink that made her lose consciousness intermittently and that while she was unconscious, he assaulted her. A representative for Portnow, who stepped down as the CEO of the Grammys in 2019, described the accusation as “completely false”.
When speaking to Billboard backstage, Bridgers was asked to comment on the future of rock and how women are dominating the genre right now. In response, she said: “I have something to say about women. The ex-president of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow, said that if women want to be nominated and win Grammys, that they should ‘step up.’ He’s also being accused of sexual violence. So to him, I’d like to say, ‘I know you’re not dead yet. But when you are, rot in piss.'”
Supporting her friend and bandmate, Julien Baker added: “That’s pretty rock and roll.”
Bridgers’ comments and Boygenius’ wins at the Grammys arrived only days after the group announced a hiatus and that they would be returning to their respective solo careers following their intimate Los Angeles show.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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