Citing a “double standard,” So So Def CEO/Arista senior VP Jermaine Dupri resigned today (Feb. 6) as president of the Atlanta chapter of the Recording Academy. Dupri says his resignation stems from the fact that Janet Jackson was removed as a Grammy presenter after the Super Bowl halftime incident in which Justin Timberlake ripped her bodice, baring her breast. Timberlake is still scheduled to appear at Sunday’s Grammys, as part of a performance with the Black Eyed Peas.
In a statement, Dupri says, “I consider NARAS a community — a music community who protects each other and supports each other. But there appears to be a double standard. I cannot stand by and watch a fellow member of the music community be used as a scapegoat. It comes down to an issue of fairness. What is happening is not fair. I cannot in good conscience continue my role in supporting the mission and objectives of an organization that has, in my opinion, treated a member of the music community in this way.”
Speaking at a media gathering in Hollywood, Dupri noted that Jackson is “holding up,” adding that “everybody is making this bigger than what it is. I’m pretty much through until I hear from [Recording Academy president Neil Portnow].”
Dupri said he is not planning to attend the Grammy ceremony. He is hosting a post-show celebration honoring So So Def and Atlanta-based Grammy nominees OutKast, Ludacris and Anthony Hamilton.
Dupri had been president of the Atlanta chapter for two years.
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