Grimes on music industry sexism: 'Being asked about it portrays me as a victim'
'I will say that I’ve been in numerous situations where male producers would literally be like, "We won’t finish the song unless you come back to my hotel room," the singer told Rolling Stone
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Grimes has accused the media of propagating sexism by asking her about its place within the music industry during interviews.
The Canadian pop singer said asking about industry sexism paints her as a victim instead of a successful musician and producer.
“The most annoying thing about my job: being asked about music industry sexism,“ she wrote on Twitter.
”Media propagates sexism by portraying me as a victim rather than the successful producer that I am."
Her tweets came after an interview with Rolling Stone, where the Canadian pop singer described how other male producers had allegedly attempted to get her to go back to their hotel rooms during a conversation about sexism in the industry.
When asked about the Kesha/Dr Luke legal battle, Grimes told the magazine she didn't know enough about the specifics of the case. However, she recalled her own experiences with other male producers in the past.
”But I will say that I’ve been in numerous situations where male producers would literally be like, ‘We won’t finish the song unless you come back to my hotel room,’” she said.
“If I was younger or in a more financially desperate situation, maybe I would have done that.”
Grimes has written about the infantilisation and sexualisation of women in the industry by both the public and those who work within it in the past. She decried the perception of women as unable to use technology without assistance and ridiculed the many male musicians who, despite being much less successful, had offered to "help her out".
“I don't want to have to compromise my morals in order to make a living,” she wrote in a 2013 blog post.
“I don’t want my words to be taken out of context. I don’t want to be infantilised because I refuse to be sexualised.
“I'm tired of men who aren't professional or even accomplished musicians continually offering to 'help me out' (without being asked), as if I did this by accident and I’m gonna flounder without them. Or as if the fact that I'm a woman makes me incapable of using technology. I have never seen this kind of thing happen to any of my male peers.”
Dr Luke has repeatedly denied the allegations against him, which he claims are financially motivated.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments