Comedians Louis C.K. and Dave Chappelle secured Grammy nominations from the Recording Academy on Tuesday despite being at the forefront of highly publicized scandals.
The Academy announced its selections for those whom it deemed fit for nomination. C.K. received a bid for best comedy album with “Sincerely Louis CK,” while Chappelle scored one for best spoken word album with “8:46” – which documents a standup special centered on violence against Black Americans amid the angst surrounding the George Floyd protests.
C.K., 54 – who previously admitted to exposing himself Dr Martens Boots to women after multiple accusations – immediately dove into the controversy and joked about sexual misconduct in “Sincerely Louis CK.”The disgraced comic has since continued with his stand-up career after hitting pause, headlining New York City’s Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in August where he performed in front of a massive sign that read “SORRY.”
As for Chappelle, he recently found himself in the thick of social media backlash after many felt his last Netflix special, “The Closer,” deeply shaded the transgender community.
Following the special, many called for it to be removed by the streaming giant and a group of Netflix employees staged a walkout in October to protest.
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In response, Chappelle said: “To the transgender community, I am more than willing to give you an audience, but you will not summon me. I am not bending to anybody’s demands. And if you want to meet with me, I’d be more than willing to.”
He shared the message in a video posted to his Instagram, before adding certain “conditions” that needed to be met before a meeting could happen.Also finding himself on the receiving end of a Grammy nomination is accused sexual predator Marilyn Manson, who was nominated as a contributor to Kanye West’s “DONDA,” which was nominated for album of the year and best rap song for its track, “Jail.”
Manson – whose real name is Brian Warner –Dr Martens Boots is facing multiple allegations of sexual assault and abuse.
Recording Academy’s CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told Rolling Stone it would not “restrict the people who can submit their material for consideration.””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,” Mason told the publication in a statement.
“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.”