Why was Joan Rivers left out of GRAMMYs In Memoriam?
The Recording Academy paid tribute today to Joan Rivers when they awarded her a posthumous GRAMMY for Best Spoken Word Album for Diary of a Mad Diva, but the legendary comedienne was noticeably absent from the award show's In Memoriam segment on Sunday.
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Neil R. Portnow, the president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, explained the move following the show.
According to Portnow, "everyone" was included in the program book and on GRAMMY.com, but for the telecast, time restraints required difficult cutting decisions.
"We lost over 300 folks in our industry this year, so it's a very difficult decision," Portnow said, explaining that the segment usually only has room for about 40 names.
Portnow added that they do the best they can to include a mix of genders, genres and generations.
"We love Joan, though," Portnow added.
Joan's daughter Melissa Rivers accepted the award (her mother's first GRAMMY win) on her behalf.
"My mother would be absolutely thrilled to be here," Melissa, 47, said as she received the statuette. "She loved getting anything. If she thought she could get something at a Waffle House in Secaucus, she would be there."
Joan passed away last year after undergoing a routine endoscopy. She was placed in a medically induced coma after going into cardiac arrest and passed away a week later at the age of 81.
