Spike Lee Says Beyoncé Losing Album of the Year Grammy Award is ‘Straight-Up Shenanigans’
Spike Lee is weighing in on Beyoncé’s Renaissance not taking home album of the year at the Grammy Awards, calling the loss “poppycock.”
As reported on People, Harry Styles, 29, ultimately won the coveted award for Harry’s House during music’s biggest night earlier this month.
The Oscar-winning screenwriter, 65, shared his thoughts during a conversation with The Guardian.
“I’m not the male president of the Bey Hive, but I love and support Beyoncé. Her album is amazing. I know she’s won multiple Grammys, but four times nominated for album of the year and she’s lost every time? No disrespect to those artists like Adele or Harry Styles who won. It’s not their fault, but that’s some straight-up bulls—.”
Continued Lee: “There’s a history of great Black artists who come up for these awards and don’t win. We all know their work is great, because art speaks for itself. But then it always comes down to this tricky territory of validation. Do Black artists say: ‘F— it’ – or seek white validation and chase awards?”
Showing love for Beyoncé, Lee said, “I just want to give a shoutout to my sister Beyoncé. We know what the deal is. It’s straight-up shenanigans, skulduggery, subterfuge. Or as the British say: it’s some poppycock!”
Asked if it’s hard for musicians to address the dynamics in the music industry, Lee said “It depends who you’re talking about.”
“I’ve learned that you have to speak truth to power,” he said. “When I take my last breath, which won’t be soon by the way, it’ll be written that I was on the right side of history. But it’s an individual choice. There’s certain times when you know there’ll be repercussions and you’ve got to make a choice to speak out or clam up.”
He made it clear that he doesn’t try to “[speak] for 45 million African Americans,” and made it clear, “I always say, ‘This is my opinion’. Fairly early on, my late mother said: ‘Spike, we as Black people are not one monolithic group. We don’t look alike, talk alike, think alike. We’re very diverse, from many different backgrounds.’ And I took that to heart.”
