Voters within the comedy group supported C.Ok., regardless of the controversy. Voters from exterior the comedy group weren't possible to make use of up a "discipline" simply to ding him.
Louis C.Ok.’s Grammy win for greatest comedy album on Sunday was his first main award since a 2017 scandal during which he admitted to a number of incidents of sexual misconduct. The award was offered throughout the Grammy Premiere Ceremony previous to the primary telecast. The comic wasn’t current on the MGM Grand Convention Marquee Ballroom in Las Vegas to simply accept the award in individual. (Many winners of those non-televised awards are no-shows on the Premiere Ceremony.)
Even so, the actual fact that he gained has stirred controversy and raised questions. How might he win, particularly when the Recording Academy has been working extra time to spice up the variety of girls and different underrepresented teams within the Academy?
The straightforward, if quite glib, reply is that his Sincerely Louis CK bought extra votes than any of its rivals – Lavell Crawford’s The Comedy Vaccine, Chelsea Handler’s Evolution, Lewis Black’s Thanks for Risking Your Life, Nate Bargatze’s The Biggest Common American and Kevin Hart’s Zero F****s Given.
There is no such thing as a mechanism or precedent for the Grammys to not permit a controversial determine to be nominated.
Harvey Mason jr., the Recording Academy’s CEO, addressed the controversy stirred by nominations for Louis C.Ok., Dave Chappelle and Marilyn Manson when the sixty fourth annual Grammy nominations have been introduced final November.
Requested about it by The Wrap’s Brian Welk, Mason stated the Recording Academy doesn’t take private historical past into consideration when figuring out eligibility for its awards. “We gained’t prohibit the individuals who can submit their materials for consideration,” Mason stated. “We gained’t look again at folks’s historical past, we gained’t have a look at their prison file, we gained’t have a look at something apart from the legality inside our guidelines of, is that this recording for this work eligible primarily based on date and different standards? Whether it is, they will submit for consideration.”
However he additionally added: “What we'll management is our levels, our exhibits, our occasions, our crimson carpets. We’ll check out anybody who's asking to be part of that, asking to be in attendance, and we’ll make our selections at that time. However we’re not going to be within the enterprise of proscribing folks from submitting their work for our voters to determine on.”
The Academy invited Bargatze to function a presenter on the Premiere Ceremony – worthwhile publicity for somebody at his profession stage.
However how did C.Ok. win anyway, even carrying that baggage?
Grammy voters usually gravitate towards acquainted names, particularly in “down-ballot” classes. This was Louis C.Ok.’s fourth nomination, and third win, within the class. He additionally gained for Hilarious (2011) and Dwell at Madison Sq. Backyard (2015). C.Ok. is considered one of solely three comedians to win within the class thrice since 2000, together with the late George Carlin and Chappelle.
Two different nominees within the class this yr have been additionally repeat nominees. This was Black’s sixth nod within the class (he has gained twice) and Hart’s second (he has but to win).
C.Ok. additionally caught a break when the Recording Academy dominated that Bo Burnham’s Inside (The Songs), the largest hit of the yr on Billboard’s Comedy Albums chart, didn’t meet the factors to compete within the class. As a substitute, Inside (The Songs) vied for a nomination for greatest compilation soundtrack for visible media, a class usually reserved for unique music composed for movies, TV exhibits and video video games. It wound up not even being nominated there, although a tune from the challenge, “All Eyes on Me,” was nominated for, and gained, greatest tune written for visible media. As well as, Inside was nominated for greatest music movie (however misplaced to Summer time of Soul).
The Academy has a brand new rule in place, informally known as “the ten/3 rule,” which was supposed to chop down on the apply of voters roaming across the poll and voting in classes during which they’re not specialists. All voting members could vote within the so-called Large 4 classes – album, file and tune of the yr, plus greatest new artist. After that, they might vote in not more than 10 different classes — chosen from not more than three different fields.
Finest comedy album is the one class within the comedy discipline, so a voter would have had to make use of up considered one of their three fields to vote there. (There are 24 fields, not counting the Common Discipline, which homes the Large 4 classes.)
So it’s honest to say that voters within the comedy group supported C.Ok., regardless of the controversy. Voters from exterior the comedy group weren’t possible dissipate a discipline simply to ding him.
Earlier than the scandal, C.Ok., 54, was one of the profitable comedians of his period, success that was mirrored in awards. He has acquired six Primetime Emmy Awards (although none since 2015), three awards from the Writers Guild of America (although none since 2014), three Peabody Awards (although none since 2016), and a Display screen Actors Guild Award for excellent ensemble forged in a movement image for his position in American Hustle (2013).
C.Ok.’s admission that he had repeatedly uncovered himself to girls with out their consent, which adopted the publication of an exposé in The New York Occasions, induced swift backlash. His 2017 movie I Love You, Daddy was pulled from distribution previous to its launch. His stand-up profession additionally got here to a brief halt.
In 2020, C.Ok. launched a brand new comedy particular, Sincerely Louis CK, on his web site. It's the album from that particular that introduced him his third Grammy. In 2021, he launched into a world comedy tour and launched a brand new comedy particular, Sorry, once more on his web site.
Chappelle, in the meantime, has confronted backlash for transphobic feedback that he made in his Netflix stand-up particular The Nearer. He was Grammy-nominated this yr for greatest spoken phrase album (contains poetry, audio books & storytelling), alongside poet Amir Sulaiman, for 8:46, however they misplaced to actor Don Cheadle for Carry On: Reflections for a New Era from John Lewis.
Did the controversy over his jokes harm Chappelle’s probabilities, or was respect for Lewis, a civil rights icon, and appreciation for the job Cheadle did on the challenge, merely an excessive amount of to beat? The controversy definitely didn’t assist.
The Recording Academy declined to remark for this story past referring to Mason’s feedback from final fall.
This story first appeared on Billboard.com.