Rapper Eminem, who is both critically acclaimed and denounced as homophobic and misogynistic, will perform at the Grammy Awards this month, National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences prexy Michael Greene said Friday.
The addition to the performance lineup was immediately labeled deeply offensive by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which is a partner with the academy in a "town hall" conference on intolerance in music planned during Grammy week.
"Eminem should not have another platform for his hateful lyrics," GLAAD executive director Joan M. Garry said in a statement.
But for those lyrics about violence against homosexuals and women, Eminem would be an obvious choice to perform at the Grammy Awards, which CBS will broadcast Feb. 21 from the Staples Center. He is a major contender, with an album-of-the-year nomination for "The Marshall Mathers LP" and three nominations in rap categories. The album sold 7.9 million copies in the U.S. last year.
Greene said he, too, has objections to the album, but that censorship has no place at the Grammys.
"I have issues with the lyrical content of the album, no question about that," Greene said. "But again, art has its extremities."
The decision to put Eminem in the show was made by NARAS' television committee. The academy also chooses which songs are performed.
In Eminem's case, the Grammy chief said, "We've been working through the process of what would make both sides comfortable and he's been very positive, very upbeat and a total professional so far."
Greene said that once the nominations were made and the show was being planned it was clear that "The Marshall Mathers LP" was the year's most significant hip-hop performance.
The academy does not tell artists to alter lyrics, he said.
CBS spokesman Chris Ender said the network supports the decisions by the academy on which artists perform at the Grammys.
"Eminem has been a force in the music world the past year and we believe there will be a lot of viewers interested in seeing him perform," Ender said. "The show will be on seven-second delay, but I'm not going to comment whether specific language will or won't be bleeped out," he said.
Greene said that if a protest occurs in the audience it would not be shown on the broadcast, but Grammy recipients and other show participants can have their say.
The Grammy week forums on intolerance in music will bring in young people and rappers to talk about the genre's lyrics.
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