The Grammys announced its nominations Monday for the 61st Grammy Awards and although two of the top artists of our time are both in the running for awards, there’s no love for both of them.
Louis C.K. wasn’t even included in the Best Comedy Album category, a snub that made headlines when the nominations were announced, based on C.K.’s acknowledgement of sexual harassment and misconduct in public conversations with The New York Times and in a recent interview with Ronan Farrow. In the column, the comedian said that he withheld his best story idea for his now-canceled FX sitcom, “Louie,” because he worried he would make people uncomfortable with it.
“This was not just bragging,” Farrow wrote of his encounter with C.K. It “was not an attempt to be brave, nor an acknowledgment of great honor in my work or life. It was a calculated move to hurt people.”
Because it was only the second time in six decades that a woman had won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album, Billie Jean King is being acknowledged for that win as well.
Another recognizable name missing from the ballot was Dave Chappelle. The comedian was candid with journalist Jeff Sharlet in an extensive Rolling Stone profile after his controversial appearance on Stephen Colbert’s show and its aftermath. C.K. wrote, edited and co-starred in Chappelle’s Show, but in the interview, Chappelle expressed anger and regret over how he handled the aftermath.
“I just had no clue what to do,” Chappelle said. “I was in denial. I wasn’t angry, but I was disappointed and concerned. If people would have found out four or five years earlier, I would have been really down on myself.”
Click here for more from Billboard.