Exposes Sordid Details and Pervasive Practice of Silencing Victims Through Non-Disclosure Agreements – Hush Money
(Los Angeles, CA) – Today, in the Superior Court of California, a courageous survivor brought suit against those who run the famed Grammy Awards and its former CEO and President, C. Michael Greene, for sexual battery, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and the creation of a culture that permitted him and others to abuse, exploit, and silence victims over many years.
Terri McIntyre was hired for the position of Executive Director of the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, commonly known as the Recording Academy or “the Grammys,” in early 1994. In that role, she was subjected to pervasive sexual harassment, battery and assault by the man who ran the organization, Mike Greene. He, and others in power and those who profited from the music industry, covered up the crimes and offenses – not only those crimes against her, but crimes against other young and vulnerable women.
“Our investigation and this suit exposes a pernicious, pervasive, and perverse corporate culture.” – Jeff Anderson
Statement of Terri McIntyre:
“I was drugged, sexually assaulted and subject to constant workplace abuse and harassment by the CEO of the Recording Academy during my two years of employment. His criminal, disgusting and deviant actions were devastating and soul-crushing. As a young, single mother pursuing what, until then, was a promising career in the music industry, I had nowhere to turn and received no help from the Recording Academy. Instead, the intolerable circumstances I faced on a daily basis forced me to leave my job and any prospect of continuing a career in the music industry. From whom and what I know, I believe many other women were similarly victimized by Mike Greene and, by proxy, the Recording Academy.
Mike Greene lied, of course, and the Recording Academy covered up his crimes. They tried to buy my silence, but I refused. Several years later, after I gave lengthy testimony in what became a sham internal investigation and even greater cover-up of his crimes against me and other women, they tried to buy my silence again. The Recording Academy eventually parted ways with Greene, but in so doing falsely denied any wrongdoing and – from what I’ve been told by credible sources – negotiated a number of non-disclosure agreements to conceal his offenses against other women and, in fact, rewarded him with a huge, multi-million dollar severance. The other women terrorized were paid peanuts by comparison and forced to remain silent.
I, too, was offered significant settlements to silence and coerce me to sign non-disclosure agreements, which would forever protect Mike Greene and the Recording Academy from the crimes he and they committed against me. In each instance my response never wavered: “I am not for sale, lease, or rent. One day the time will be right, and I will be strong enough to tell my story.”