In a recent interview with The Guardian, Fiona Apple shames the Grammys for their Record of the Year nomination of Dr. Luke– under the pseudonym Tyson Trax– on Doja Cat’s “Say So.”
In 2018, the Grammys allowed Kesha the platform to perform her single “Praying” (a track believed to be about her experiences with alleged abuser, Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald). However, no more than three years following Kesha’s evocative performance, the Grammys nominate Dr. Luke for his work as Tyson Trax on Doja Cat’s “Say So.”
Kesha sued Dr. Luke in 2014 for sexual assault and battery. In an effort to terminate her recording contract with Dr. Luke’s Sony label, Kemosabe Records, a judge denied Kesha an injunction that would allow this, ultimately dismissing her case. Dr. Luke has sued Kesha for defamation and denies all allegations against him.
Fiona Apple, in a recent interview with The Guardian, calls out the Grammys for Dr. Luke’s nomination which contradicts their support of Kesha’s performance three years prior:
I’m bringing up the Grammys and that’s really something that I shouldn’t be doing, but really, Dr. Luke is nominated? They had [Kesha] up there singing Praying and now they’re gonna go: “Oh but it’s Tyson Trax!” I’m waiting to hear more about what Deborah Dugan [former Recording Academy president] has to say [about the culture at the Recording Academy] because that all reeks to me.
Fiona Apple / The Guardian
Apple expresses her disdain for the Grammys’ hypocrisy saying, “I keep going back to them putting Kesha on stage like, “We believe you” – and I believe her – then two years later, fucking Tyson Trax.” Apple continues, “It’s bullshit.”
Apple is also nominated for three awards including Best Alternative Music Album (for her album, Fetch The Bolt Cutters), as well as Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song (for her track, “Shameika”).
For the first time in Grammys history, the nominees for Best Rock Performance are all women, including Phoebe Bridgers, HAIM, and Brittany Howard. In response to this monumental moment, Apple states, “I wish I was in a room with these ladies and we could celebrate.
“My vision [if Apple wins] was that I would just get up there with a sledgehammer and I wouldn’t say anything, I would take the Grammy and smash it into enough pieces to share and I would invite all the ladies up. My second thought was I wonder if I can get all these ladies to boycott this shit because of Dr. Luke.”
Check out Apple’s full interview here.
