--- title: Dua Lipa Used Her Grammys Speech to Call Out the Show's Head description: At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, the "New Rules" singer responded to Neil Portnow's message about how female artists needed to 'step up.' canonical: https://time.com/5526768/dua-lipa-grammys-speech/ author: Rachel E. Greenspan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-02-11T15:21:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T00:58:08.000Z og:title: Dua Lipa Had a Clap Back in Her Grammys Acceptance Speech og:description: She referenced the show's head's comment from 2018 og:url: https://time.com/5526768/dua-lipa-grammys-speech/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d24998396ebec67/698944f14ee262474e313fb3/dua-lipa-grammys-acceptance-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: dua-lipa-grammys-acceptance-speech og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Dua Lipa Had a Clap Back in Her Grammys Acceptance Speech twitter:description: She referenced the show's head's comment from 2018 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d24998396ebec67/698944f14ee262474e313fb3/dua-lipa-grammys-acceptance-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Dua Lipa Worked a Clapback About Female Artists Needing to 'Step Up' Into Her Grammys Acceptance Speech by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:58 AM UTCPublished: Feb 11, 2019 3:21 PM UTC  Dua Lipa speaks onstage during the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Dua Lipa speaks onstage during the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.Emma McIntyre—The Recording Academy/Getty Images by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:58 AM UTCPublished: Feb 11, 2019 3:21 PM UTC Most stars thank the Recording Academy during a Grammys acceptance speech. But Dua Lipa, who won for Best New Artist, used her moment to throw shade instead. At the [61st Annual Grammy Awards](http://time.com/5526160/grammys-2019-best-worst-moments/), the “New Rules” singer responded to Recording Academy President and CEO Neil Portnow’s message about how female artists needed to “step up.” Portnow’s comments, part of an interview with _Variety_, came after the [2018 Grammys](http://time.com/5122250/grammys-2018-winners-list/) encountered backlash for its dearth of awards for female artists. Alessia Cara’s win for Best New Artist made her the only female winner in a major category that year. Following criticism, the Recording Academy invited 900 new music creators to be voting members in an effort to increase diversity at the Grammys, the first endeavor from the Academy’s newly created Task Force on Diversity & Inclusion. “I guess this year we’ve really stepped up,” Dua Lipa said after winning her award on Sunday night, before her speech was [cut off early](http://time.com/5526465/2019-grammys-drake-speech/). The artist elaborated after exiting the stage, telling reporters that she was hopeful for the future. “It’s a change that we hope to see for many years to come,” she said of the increase in women among the Best New Artist nominees. “It only felt right to be able to do that because they’re artists that I love and admire, and I was so honored to be able to share that moment with them.” Later in the broadcast, Portnow, who is retiring this year, celebrated the talent and importance of “female voices of our times.” Lipa and Kacey Musgraves, who won Album of the Year for “Golden Hour,” helped bring the number of female artists taking home the top categories up from last year. [Cardi B](http://time.com/5526361/grammys-2019-cardi-b-red-carpet/) also made history for women on Sunday, becoming the [first female solo rap artist to win Best Rap Album](http://time.com/5526525/grammys-2019-cardi-b-best-rap-album/). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5526768/dua-lipa-grammys-speech/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5526768/dua-lipa-grammys-speech/"},"headline":"Dua Lipa Worked a Clapback About Female Artists Needing to 'Step Up' Into Her Grammys Acceptance Speech","datePublished":"2019-02-11T15:21:57.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T00:58:08.000Z","description":"'I guess this year we've really stepped up'","url":"https://time.com/5526768/dua-lipa-grammys-speech/","keywords":["Newsfeed","awards","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d24998396ebec67/698944f14ee262474e313fb3/dua-lipa-grammys-acceptance-speech.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel E. 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