It’s about two months until the Grammys and the recording academy is already ruffling feathers after asking Tiffany Haddish to host the pre-event for free.
To add more insult to injury, the Girls Trip star would’ve had to cover her own travel and expenses so she declined the gig.
“All of that would have to come out of my pocket,” she told Variety in an interview published Wednesday. “I don’t know if this might mean I might not get nominated ever again, but I think it’s disrespectful.”
The comedian humbly acknowledged that the “exposure is amazing” but she’s good luv, enjoy. “How many other people have they done that to? It’s like a guy asking you on a date but telling you that you have to pay for it,” she explained.
The Academy interim chief, Harvey Mason Jr., quickly tried to do damage control and pointed the finger at the talent booking agent. “I’m frustrated by that decision,” the musician said in a one-minute video via Instagram. “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, and it’s not right.”
He added that Tiffany Haddish was “gracious enough” to speak to him directly so he can apologize. “I expressed to her my regret and my displeasure about how this went down and how it was handled,” he added. “And I will say, Tiffany, we are sorry and thank you for allowing me to speak on it.”
The actress is nominated for Best Comedy Album for Netflix’s Black Mitzvah, marking her second nod at the Grammys.
