LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — Neil Portnow, the former chief executive officer and president of the Recording Academy, has denied the allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman
Portnow was accused of raping an unnamed female recording artist in an Equal Opportunity Employment Commission complaint filed against the Academy on Tuesday by his embattled successor Deborah Dugan on Tuesday.
The complaint claimed that the alleged sexual assault was the real reason for Portnow’s exit from his longtime position at the top of the Academy in 2018.
In a statement provided to Billboard, Portnow categorically denied the charges leveled against him, characterizing the claims as “ludicrous and untrue.”
He went on to note that the allegations had been investigated independently and that he had been completely exonerated.
“An in-depth independent investigation by experienced and highly regarded lawyers was conducted and I was completely exonerated. There was no basis for the allegations and once again I deny them unequivocally,” Portnow said in the statement provided to Billboard.
He also refuted the characterization of his exit from the organization, stating that he had decided to leave his position at NARAS ahead of the 2018 telecast and denied an allegation from Dugan that he demanded a $750,000 consulting fee.
