SHAKE-UP

Recording Academy’s New CEO Placed on Leave Days Before Grammys

The Academy said a “senior female member of the Recording Academy team" accused Dugan of misconduct.

The Recording Academy has put its chief executive on leave just 10 days before the Grammy Awards, The Wall Street Journal reported. Deborah Dugan, the first woman to lead the Recording Academy, was accused of misconduct by a “senior female member of the Recording Academy team,” the organization said in a Thursday statement.

After the allegation was probed by two independent investigators, Dugan was subsequently put on administrative leave. She had only been in the position since August, after replacing long-time executive Neil Portnow.

Dugan's lawyer released a statement on Friday claiming the allegations as printed were “not nearly the story” that needed to be told. “When our ability to speak is not restrained by a 28-page contract and legal threats, we will expose what happens when you ‘step up’ at the Recording Academy, a public nonprofit,” Freedman wrote. Apart from its Thursday statement, The Academy has not spoken publicly on the matter. Academy board chairman Harvey Mason Jr. will serve as the interim chief executive.