Tiffany Haddish says Grammys wouldn’t pay her to host the event; Academy chief says ‘It was a judgment lapse’

Tiffany Haddish recently got candid and revealed that The Recording Academy aka the Grammys asked her to host the three-hour live-streamed event without any payment. Scroll down to see what she said.

Tiffany Haddish recently revealed that she turned down the offer to host the Grammys pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony. The Recording Academy allegedly asked her to host the three-hour live-streamed event without receiving any payment. They also apparently refused to cover her hair, makeup or wardrobe for the on-air event. “All of that would have to come out of my pocket,”

Tiffany told Variety. “I don’t know if this might mean I might not get nominated ever again, but I think it’s disrespectful.” The Recording Academy told Variety that “all hosts, presenters, and performers have traditionally performed gratis, including this year,” because the Academy is a not-for-profit organization. In addition, they said her decision would not impact if she was nominated again in the future.

“I was like, ‘The exposure is amazing but I think I have enough. I appreciate you guys asking,’” Tiffany continued. “And as much as I appreciate the honour of being nominated, that’s not okay.” Tiffany is nominated for a Grammy this year for best comedy album for Netflix’s Black Mitzvah. She was nominated last year for her spoken word album The Last Black Unicorn. The 2021 ceremony will take place on January 31. The Recording Academy’s Interim Chief Harvey Mason, Jr. has since issued an apology, both publicly and privately, to Tiffany Haddish.

He said: “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.”