#The Weeknd Accuses Grammys Of Corruption — Recording Academy Chair Responds!

The Weeknd is one of many artists who has a problem with this year’s list of nominations — Nicki Minaj, Wiz Khalifa, and Justin Bieber are among those who have already publicly slammed the process.

Related: The Weeknd, Dua Lipa & More Perform At The 2020 AMAs

But according to a TMZ report, the After Hours artist may have had good reason for feeling snubbed. Sources for the outlet claimed the Recording Academy issued an ultimatum about his Super Bowl performance: that he could perform during the Grammys broadcast or the Halftime Show, not both.

They eventually came to an agreement that he would perform on both occasions (which will be broadcast on CBS a week apart), but insiders close to Abel Tesfaye suspected the “testy” negotiations may have angered higher-ups in the Academy. So much so, they believe it ultimately caused the Blinding Lights singer to be shut out of the nominations.

Following the report, the Canadian himself spoke out about the snub on Twitter. He wrote:

“The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…”

Well, ask and you shall receive — though the award show’s response probably isn’t the bombshell reveal Weeknd fans may have hoped for. In a statement to People, Recording Academy Chair and Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason Jr. denied TMZ’s accusations. He said:

“We understand that The Weeknd is disappointed at not being nominated. I was surprised and can empathize with what he’s feeling. His music this year was excellent, and his contributions to the music community and broader world are worthy of everyone’s admiration. We were thrilled when we found out he would be performing at the upcoming Super Bowl and we would have loved to have him also perform on the GRAMMY stage the weekend before.”

In addition to hinting the artist wouldn’t be performing for them any longer, Mason Jr. added:

“Unfortunately, every year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists. But as the only peer-voted music award, we will continue to recognize and celebrate excellence in music while shining a light on the many amazing artists that make up our global community.”

Related: Did J.Lo Copy Beyonce’s 2014 Grammy Performance For The AMAs??

Of the possibility of corruption, he clarified:

“To be clear, voting in all categories ended well before The Weeknd’s performance at the Super Bowl was announced, so in no way could it have affected the nomination process. All GRAMMY nominees are recognized by the voting body for their excellence, and we congratulate them all.”

Hmm. Well, there’s no denying that a lot of industry politics goes into Grammy voting, but it looks like the Super Bowl kerfuffle (if it did in fact happen) was a non-issue when it came to the noms.

We’ll definitely be interested to see if Selena Gomez’s ex speaks on this any further…

[Image via Derrick Salters/WENN]