PHOTO COURTESY OF PEOPLE

Beyoncé at the Grammys 2023

Anna Cox is a first year English major from Paragould

With the Oscars coming up and the Grammys behind us, viewers are once again sharing their theories on whether or not award shows are rigged. With Harry Styles winning album of the year and Sam Smith and Kim Petras winning best pop duo performance, people are not happy with the results.

The first Grammy awards were presented in 1959, just a few years before segregation in America officially ended. Because it was created in a time of segregation, it was then on a system heavily favoring white people, mostly men. 

Although one could say that because Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie each won two awards during the first show, there is no way that the Grammy’s can be racist. However, their four winnings are nothing compared to the total of 28 awards given out, with 24 of them given to White people. 

The Oscars are very much the same. Like the Grammys, it was created in a time of segregation and heavy racism, the first being held in 1929. Even now, America is flooded with organizations that are based on racial bias. 

Hattie McDaniel was the first African American to win an Oscar. She accepted the award for best supporting actress in the 12th cycle of the Oscars. 

In 1973, Sacheen Littlefeather, an activist for Native Americans, was sent in place of Marlon Brando to refuse an Oscar award. This resulted in an attempted attack by John Wayne and ridicule by Clint Eastwood. 

Although Wayne did receive backlash, the attempted attack in general is enough to tell how horribly women of color were treated. Littlefeather was not declining the award, Brando was. Even if some fun was poked at Brando for not coming in person, the person who got attacked about it was Littlefeather. 

To make reform, the shows shouldn’t have ways of buying the awards. Sending gifts and donations to the organization shouldn’t result in the instant winning for an artist. People of color are disadvantaged and when they speak about issues that pertain only to their culture, they are punished for it by not winning. 

However, in more positive news, Beyoncé has broken a new record for winning 32 Grammys. Although she did break a record, many fans, including me, are confused on how such a lauded album didn’t win album of the year. Beyoncé’s albums are influenced heavily by cultural factors and her music tells stories of struggles as well as celebrations. 

Award shows are rigged. If something is created in a time of segregation and heavy racism, that will become a tenet of the organization whether purposeful or not. The shows have made little efforts for reform. 

Categories: Opinion