Recording Academy Chief Apologizes to Tiffany Haddish for Refusing to Pay Her for Hosting Grammys Premiere Ceremony

The Recording Academy’s Interim Chief Harvey Mason, Jr. has issued an apology, both publicly and privately, to Tiffany Haddish.

If you missed the news, Tiffany shared that she was offered a gig to host the Grammys pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony. She added that the Grammys refused to pay her for the three hour event and would not pay for her makeup or wardrobe either.

“It’s just been brought to my attention that the Recording Academy invited Tiffany Haddish to host this year’s Premiere ceremony,” Mason said in an apology on his Instagram. “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.”

“To me that was wrong,” he added. “I’m frustrated by that decision. It was a lapse in judgment, it was in poor taste, and it was disrespectful to the creative community — I’m part of the creative community and I know what that feels like,” he added, “and it’s not right.

“Thankfully, Ms. Haddish was gracious enough to allow me to have a conversation with her. I apologized to her personally, I apologized from the Academy, and I expressed to her my regret and my displeasure about how this went down and how it was handled. And I will say,” he concluded, “Tiffany, we are sorry and thank you for allowing me to speak on it.”

This is not the first controversy the Grammys has been involved in recently. The 2021 Grammys will take place on January 31.