The 59th Annual Grammy Awards will feature its first-ever male and transgender “trophy girls” tasked with presenting music’s top honors onstage.
“To be honest, the idea of a ‘trophy girl’ has felt antiquated for some time now,” Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, said in a statement Friday. “Who wrote that rule anyway? The ability to present a trophy has nothing to do with one’s gender.”
Viewers watching Sunday’s Grammys will see three trophy handlers, including transgender model Martina Robledo, actor Derek Marrocco, and model and actress Hollin Haley.
The change is the latest move by The Recording Academy, which presents the annual event, to diversify the awards ceremony, from rap to country to jazz to classical, with Beyoncé and Adele among the top contenders this time around.
Beyoncé leads all artists with nine nominations, including Album of the Year for her Black Lives Matter-inspired album Lemonade. Singer Rihanna and rappers Drake and Kanye West each earned eight nods. British pop queen Adele was tipped in top categories, including Album of the Year for her commercial juggernaut 25.
James Corden will host the ceremony, which airs live on CBS at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson.
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