Recording Academy president regrets 2 words about women in music

— -- Following a storm of criticism, Recording Academy President Neil Portnow has walked back comments he made Sunday night at the Grammy Awards about the lack of female representation at this year's awards show.

Asked after Sunday's ceremony how female executives and artists can advance in the music industry, Portnow said, "I think it has to begin with women who have the creativity in their hearts and their souls, who want to be musicians, who want to be engineers, who want to be producers, who want to be part of the industry on an executive level, to step up, because I think they would be welcome,""

A number of women in the music industry, including Pink and CharliXCX, took offense to Portnow's use of the words "step up."

This morning, Portnow released a statement, in which he said he regretted using those words.

"[Sunday] night, I was asked a question about the lack of female artist representation in certain categories of this year’s Grammy Awards," he said in the statement. "Regrettably, I used two words, 'step up,' that, when taken out of context, do not convey my beliefs and the point I was trying to make."

The statement added, "Our industry must recognize that women who dream of careers in music face barriers that men have never faced. We must actively work to eliminate these barriers and encourage women to live their dreams and express their passion and creativity through music. We must welcome, mentor, and empower them. Our community will be richer for it."

Portnow's earlier comments drew a strong rebuke from the musician Pink, who tweeted a response Monday night.

"Women in music don't need to 'step up,'" she wrote. "Women have been stepping up since the beginning of time. Stepping up, and also stepping aside."

After noting that women "owned music this year," Pink wrote, "When we celebrate and honor the talent and accomplishments of women, and how much women step up every year, against all odds, we show the next generation of women and girls and boys and men what it means to be equal, and what it looks like to be fair."

Earlier in the day, Charli XCX had even stronger words. She tweeted, "ugh bout 2 step up on 2 ur face.. women are making AMAZING music right now wtf is this dude talking about ?????"

The two exchanges came after the hashtag #GrammySoMale began trending in response to Sunday's ceremony in which only one award went to a solo female. The Grammys are awarded by the Recording Academy.

Last week, The New York Times reported that only nine percent of all Grammy nominees in the past six years have been women.