5 Ways The 2022 Grammys Outshined The Oscars With Controversy

The 64th edition of the annual Grammy Awards ceremony was one for the books as several controversial moments happened.

There was only one dramatic occurrence at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony, held at the Dolby theater, but there were even more at the musical event.

From the absence of two renowned icons who became winners of the night to the awarding of alleged sexual offenders, the occasion ended up topping the Oscars.

On Sunday, April 3, 2022, the 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Los Angeles.

This event followed the 94th Academy Awards last Sunday, March 27, where the Best Actor in a Leading Role winner, Will Smith, entered a debacle with Chris Rock over an offensive joke. 

The Blast reported that while Rock was introducing the award for Best Documentary, he said, "Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see ya."

The "Red Table Talk" co-host suffers an autoimmune disorder called alopecia which caused her hair loss, so she was not pleased with his statement. 

Will laughed at Rock's joke at first, then took to the stage and smacked him across the face, to the audience's surprise. 

The shocked host said, "Oh wow, Will Smith just smacked the s--- out of me," and the "King Richard" actor, who was now seated, replied, "Keep my wife's name out your f---ing mouth!" 

Rock tried to make light of his statement, saying, "Wow, dude, it was a G.I. Jane joke," but Will repeated, "Keep my wife's name out your f---ing mouth!"

The comedian replied, "I'm going to, okay?" He then tried to save the situation by calling it the "greatest night in the history of television" and presenting the award.

The GRAMMYs was even more controversial from the start when a disgraced comedian took home the first win of the night and more.

Even more outrageous to the world than Smith slapping Rock at the Oscars was the GRAMMYs awarding two alleged sexual offenders in the person of Louis C.K. and Marilyn Manson.

C.K. won the Best Comedy Album category almost five years after he admitted to sexual conduct. His win was part of the preshow ceremony, to the annoyance of some viewers.

In November 2017, multiple women accused C.K. of masturbating in front of them or while on the phone with him. He later confirmed the allegations and apologized in a statement to US Weekly.

Manson was nominated for his work with Kanye "Ye" West on "Donda," which was up for "Album of the Year."

A minimum of 15 women accused Manson of multiple degrees of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, but he denied all claims in an Instagram post last February.

Dave Chappelle, who faced heavy backlash for his transphobic statements on his Netflix stand-up special "The Closer," was nominated.

Chappelle was considered for “Best Spoken Word Album” regarding his half-hour show titled "8:46" on the death of George Floyd.

Though the Academy Awards held a meeting to sanction Smith for his actions, the GRAMMYs defended their acknowledgments.

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. expressed in a statement that the company will not restrict anyone from submitting materials. He said:

"We won’t look back at people’s history, we won’t look at their criminal record, we won’t look at anything other than the legality within our rules of, is this recording for this work eligible based on date and other criteria? If it is, they can submit for consideration."

After winning no Grammy awards in 2021 and ensuring that the Recording Academy admitted to foul play, The Weeknd declared he would boycott the ceremony and held to his word.

Ye also avoided the event after the Recording Academy barred him from performing due to his harassment of Kim Kardashian's current boyfriend, Pete Davidson.

In an interesting turn of events, both artists won in the category of Best Melodic Rap Performance for their single with Lil Baby on the "Donda" album titled "Hurricane."

Even more surprising, The Weeknd made zero submissions to The Grammy Awards this year, but they seem to be trying to win him back. 

Drake also abstained from the event after pulling out his entries in a stance against the Recording Academy's categories which need a revamp.