The nominations for music and culture’s biggest night are out! As 2022 was a great year for music and other content, Grammys 2023 has released the contenders for each category vying for the prestigious gramophone. This year, Beyoncé is leading the race with nine nominations for her latest album ‘Renaissance’. Like every year, fans are not happy with certain snubs and inclusions. Some music heads are not happy with Grammy Awards including Dave Chappelle, Chris Brown, and Louis C.K.
The obvious backlash is due to the controversies these three were involved in. Dave Chappelle made a transphobic joke in his 2021’s special ‘Closer’. The other two controversial figures, Chris Brown, who were accused of domestic violence, and Louis C.K. admitted his sexual misconduct with five women in 2017. Despite these serious accusations, why are the awards honoring the comedians?
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Grammys CEO Explains Why Dave Chappelle And Louis C.K. Is Nominated
Dave and Louis, the two are nominated for Grammys 2023 in the ‘Best Comedy’ category. Chappelle received a heavy backlash for his comedy special where he made some transphobic jokes. The comedian called gender “a fact”. He defended J.K. Rowling, who is also accused of making anti-LGBTQIA+ jokes. Dave said, “They canceled JK Rowling. My God! Effectually she said gender was a fact, the trans community got mad as s**t, and they started calling her a Terf… I’m Team Terf. I agree, man. Gender is a fact.”
As for Louis, he admitted his sexual misconduct when five women came forward accusing him of sexually inappropriate behavior. Two female comics accused him of masturbating in front of them. He also made some anti-gay jokes and made fun of non-binary people during a routine in 2018.
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Grammys CEO Harvey Mason jr. addressed the nominations of two controversial personalities. Harvey put the onus on the audience by saying that if the audience, who are voters, feel like a creator is deserving, they cannot control it.
He continued, “We’re never going to be in the business of deciding someone’s moral position or where we evaluate them to be on the scale of morality. I think our job is to evaluate the art and the quality of the art.”
The songwriter-producer added, “We can make sure that all of our spaces are safe and people don’t feel threatened by anyone. But as far as the nominations or the awards, we really let the voters make that decision.”
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The Decision Did Not Sit Well With Twitter Users
Despite being problematic personalities, Chappelle and Louis have won Grammys previously. Dave won the Grammys three times consecutively in 2018, 2019, and 2020. He shared his Grammy with Amir Sulaiman, who won the ‘Best Spoken Word’ album in 2022. As for C.K., He won Grammys in 2012, 2015, 2016, and last year in the ‘Best Comedy Album’ category.
But, this year, the fans have vehemently protested against the nominations. They took it to Twitter and slammed the Grammys for the inclusion of the stand-up comedians.
dave chappelle and louis ck both nominated again for grammys because cancel culture is the most powerful force in the country today
— David Mack (@davidmackau) November 15, 2022
the grammys really gave Dave Chappelle a nom for transphobia, but apparently he got canceled 🧐
— Justice Ameer (@thejusticeameer) November 15, 2022
chris brown, louis ck, and dave chappelle all nominated for grammys, next person who uses the term 'cancel culture' seriously isn't allowed to use the internet anymore
— Conor White for some reason (@conorjwhite) November 15, 2022
OF COURSE the Grammys nominated Louis CK again and the Dave Chappelle transphobia special
— Reuben Baron (@AndalusianDoge) November 15, 2022
Dave Chappelle hosted SNL, and both he and Louis CK are nominated for Grammys. meanwhile workers are getting fired daily. https://t.co/Yfr01Yh5bo
— Ringo wants Turkey🐀 (@ringo_osu) November 16, 2022
