As female musicians continue to speak out against Neil Portnow’s “women need to step up” remark, he and the Recording Academy announced its new policy.
“After hearing from many friends and colleagues, I understand the hurt that my poor choice of words following last Sunday’s GRAMMY telecast has caused,” Portnow said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE on Thursday, following the #GrammysSoMale controversy.
“I also now realize that it’s about more than just my words. Because those words, while not reflective of my beliefs, echo the real experience of too many women.
I’d like to help make that right,” he added.Portnow’s comments on women needing to “step up” in the music business caused an uproar, and several musicians, including Pink, Katy Perry and Kelly Clarkson, slammed the Grammys exec on social media as nearly 10,000 people — including celebrities — signing a petition demanding Portnow step down from his presidential/CEO post at the Recording Academy.
Be sure to check out PEOPLE’s full Grammys coverage to get the latest news on music’s big night.
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“The Recording Academy is establishing an independent task force to review every aspect of what we do as an organization and identify where we can do more to overcome the explicit barriers and unconscious biases that impede female advancement in the music community,” Portnow said in his latest statement. “We will also place ourselves under a microscope and tackle whatever truths are revealed.”
Concluding, “I appreciate that the issue of gender bias needs to be addressed in our industry, and share in the urgency to attack it head-on. We as an organization, and I as its leader, pledge our commitment to doing that. We will share more information about the steps we are taking in the coming weeks.”
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