Fiona Apple is the latest celebrity calling out the Grammys for its 2021 nominations.
Her criticisms come after producer Tyson Trax earned a nomination for Record of the Year for contributing to Doja Cat’s “Say So.” Tyson Trax is another pseudonym that Dr. Luke uses—the same Dr. Luke accused of heinous sexual assault crimes against Kesha, including drugging and raping. He, of course, has denied these accusations, and earlier this year, won a defamation lawsuit against the singer.
“Dr. Luke is nominated? They had [Kesha] up there singing ‘Praying’ and now they’re gonna go: ‘Oh but it’s Tyson Trax!’” Apple told the Guardian, referencing Kesha’s “Praying,” a song about Dr. Luke’s alleged abuse that she performed at the 2018 Grammys.
“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. Not to go back to that word, but it’s bullshit.”
Apple has been nominated for three Grammys this year and previously won one in 1998. Touching on her nomination for Best Rock Performance, which is comprised of only women this year, she said, “The feeling of wanting to celebrate with these women was genuine. But I should have that feeling anyway. I don’t know if anybody who’s nominated can help having the thought: what would I do If I won?”
“My vision 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.”
In February, Kesha was ordered to pay the producer over $373,000 as part of her ongoing legal battle with him. Dr. Luke and Kesha have been enmeshed in a long legal battle since 2014 after she alleged that he sexually abused her.
