Chris Brown Bought Grammy: Producer is Fired
Did Chris Brown buy his Grammy award? Sure looks like it after it was discovered the R&B singer has direct ties to Ken Ehrlich, the producer behind the Grammys. The producer defended Brown’s involvement in the ceremony on CBS This Morning after the whole incident was made public.
However, an insider says that there’s more to this story than a small endorsement on Ehrlich’s behalf. A source close to Brown has forwarded e-mails that were exchanged between Brown and Ehrlich to Neil Portnow, who is the President of The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
These e-mails in question that have been passing back and forth between the R&B star and the Grammy head were said to be riddled with bribery. The e-mails “practically begged” to secure the golden award for Brown in lieu of Brown giving, “a substantial amount of money.” The amount of money wasn’t disclosed by this insider who’s close to Chris Brown’s camp, but it was said that “Ehrlich was subsequently terminated, after many years of being involved with deliberating which of the past decades’ talents were worthy.”
The firing of Ehrlich is a little more than coincidental given the nature of his firing was said to be over “indiscretion and violation of the Academy’s ethics and integrity in rewarding talent.” Neil Portnow, the President of The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences released a statement following the firing stating, “With almost ten years of being President for The Academy, I would have never predicted that this would happen. My lack of blessing for Chris’ nomination was known, but as I’ve always respected by colleagues’ insights, I mustered all I could not to fight it so much. I have worked alongside Ken for years now, and I am heavily disappointed, and will have to raise the conduct around this board. will see to it that nothing of this caliber of humiliation will happen again.”
Chris Brown’s publicist and Ehrlich haven’t released any comments after the firing.
Update: Chris Brown’s PR team is now adamantly denying this story ever happened, saying every detail related to the firing and the bribe is “bogus.”
What do you think? Did Chris Brown pay for his Grammy or is he innocent?
