Neil Portnow, the former CEO of the Recording Academy, is now at the center of serious allegations as a musician, identified as Jane Doe, accuses him of drugging and raping her in his New York hotel room in 2018.
The lawsuit, filed by Jane Doe, describes her as an instrumentalist from outside the United States who had previously performed at Carnegie Hall.
The legal action, reported by the New York Times, also implicates the Recording Academy, responsible for the Grammys, for alleged negligence in the handling of the situation.
The lawsuit goes beyond individual accusations, aiming to shed light on the broader culture within the music and entertainment industry regarding issues of sexual assault and abuse.
Jane Doe’s lawyer, Jeffrey R. Anderson, criticized Portnow’s apparent inconsistency in supporting women, stating, “Neil Portnow gives lip service to women as standing up, but he does a disservice to every woman and every musician who is being oppressed by him and others.
This is not just about Neil Portnow and not just about the Recording Academy, but about the culture in the music and entertainment industry and its doublespeak about rape and abuse.”
According to the lawsuit, the woman claims to have met Portnow at a Recording Academy event in January 2018 and later arranged to interview him for a publication she had started.
In June of the same year, Portnow allegedly invited her to his room at the Kitano Hotel in New York, where she was offered a glass of wine.
After consuming the drink, she purportedly began to feel disoriented, experiencing difficulty focusing and losing control of her body.
Neil Portnow allegedly ignored her concerns and refused her requests to leave, stating there were no available taxis.
The woman asserts that she lost consciousness after Portnow made suggestive remarks.
Throughout the night, she claims to have awakened multiple times, each time experiencing sexual assault.
The next morning, feeling unwell, she left the room after Portnow departed for a meeting.
In the lawsuit, the woman describes her internal conflict and confusion given Portnow’s prominence in the music industry and the Recording Academy.
Despite attempting to contact Portnow multiple times afterward, she alleges that he ignored her.
Several months later, she reported the incident to Grammy officials, providing a detailed account.
A representative for Portnow vehemently denied the allegations, attributing them to the plaintiff’s imagination and suggesting ulterior motives related to financial demands and visa assistance.
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Portnow’s representative dismissed the accusations as the “latest incarnation” of a series of untrue allegations.
Neil Portnow stepped down as CEO of the Recording Academy in 2019 amid controversies, including allegations of using funds from the Grammys charity MusiCares to cover the expenses of relocating the annual ceremony to New York. Portnow faced criticism for his comments about female artists needing to “step up” when addressing gender representation at the 2018 Grammys, a year where only one woman won a Grammy in a solo category.
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