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Former president of the Recording Academy Michael Greene has been accused of sexual assault and battery in a new lawsuit. Here’s the latest.
A former executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of the Recording Academy sued Greene in Los Angeles County Superior Court this week. The lawsuit alleges sexual assault and battery, negligence and harassment at the hands of Greene, who oversaw the Grammy Awards ceremony from the late ‘80s to 2002.
“Defendant Greene and/or Defendant Academy have engaged in a cover-up or attempted cover-up,” the lawsuit alleges. The suit was filed under California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act. It comes just weeks after another former Recording Academy chief, Neil Portnow, faced allegations in New York under the Adult Survivors Act.
Michael Greene resigned from the Recording Academy in 2002 after an investigation into separate assault and harassment claims. There was also an investigation into mismanaged funds of the MusiCares non-profit organization, which Greene helped found in 1989.
“In light of pending litigation, the Academy declines to comment on these allegations, which occurred nearly 30 years ago,” the Recording Academy said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. “Today’s Recording Academy has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to sexual misconduct and will remain steadfast in this commitment.”
The lawsuit describes an incident in 1994 when academy trustees were meeting at a hotel in Hawaii. It alleges Greene drugged McIntyre’s champagne during this gathering. “After plaintiff sipped the champagne provided by defendant Greene, plaintiff quickly began to feel unwell and began to lose control of her physical movements,” the lawsuit reads.
“As plaintiff continued to lose control of her body, she noticed others exiting Greene’s hotel room, leaving plaintiff isolated with defendant Greene. The next thing plaintiff recalls is waking up nude in defendant Greene’s bed. When plaintiff awoke, defendant Greene was still asleep, lying nude next to plaintiff.”
Another incident highlighted in the lawsuit alleges that Greene exposed himself to McIntyre, then “before plaintiff could react, defendant Green grabbed the back of plaintiff’s head with [his] hands and shoved his erect penis into [her] mouth. Plaintiff tried to get away from [him], but [he] maintained his firm hold on [her] head as [she] gagged.”
McIntyre alleges the Recording Academy had a pattern of engaging Greene’s victims in Non-Disclosure Agreements, but that she did not sign one upon her exit in 1996.
