Louis C.K., the disgraced comedian known for being at the front of five sexual misconduct allegations in 2017, took home a Grammy Award on Sunday night for Best Comedy Album for his special, Sincerely Louis C.K.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason, Jr. defended the group's decision to include C.K. in the list of nominees, claiming that they won't take into account people's criminal history when considering their material.
“We won’t restrict the people who can submit their material for consideration," Mason told The Wrap. "We won’t look back at people’s history, we won’t look at their criminal record, we won’t look at anything other than the legality within our rules of, is this recording for this work eligible based on date and other criteria. If it is, they can submit for consideration.”
“What we will control is our stages, our shows, our events, our red carpets,” he continued. “We’ll take a look at anyone who is asking to be a part of that, asking to be in attendance, and we’ll make our decisions at that point. But we’re not going to be in the business of restricting people from submitting their work for our voters to decide on.”
C.K. admitted wrongdoing at the time of the accusations and took a step back from comedy. Nine months later, he began performing at venues like the Comedy Cellar and in 2021, embarked on a nationwide tour.
[Via]