HALESTORM's LZZY HALE Is 'Disappointed And Disheartened' That VINNIE PAUL Was Excluded From GRAMMY AWARDS' 'In Memoriam' Segment

HALESTORM‘s Lzzy Hale says that she is “disappointed and disheartened” that Vinnie Paul Abbott (PANTERA, HELLYEAH), Oli Herbert (ALL THAT REMAINS) and Kyle Pavone (WE CAME AS ROMANS) “were not acknowledged” in the televised portion of the Grammy Awards ceremony’s “In Memoriam” segment.

This year, The Recording Academy recognized Mac Miller, who passed away last September at the age of 26, and Avicii, the Swedish DJ and EDM producer who passed back in April.

However, among the celebrities in the “In Memoriam” tribute, fans quickly pointed out that The Recording Academy left out Abbott, Herbert and Pavone.

Many hard rock and heavy metal fans took to Twitter to air out their frustrations with the Grammy Awards, with one person calling the exclusion “a crock of shit.”

Lzzy, who served as one of the presenters at yesterday’s ceremony, took to her Instagram account earlier today to express her dissatisfaction over her colleagues’ omission, saying that “our genre is still not given the respect that it deserves.”

She wrote: “It was a whirlwind of a Grammy week. It was so wonderful to be nominated, and I’m honored to have lost that Grammy to one of my influences, Chris Cornell. His children got up on stage and filled my heart with such love as they paid tribute to their father.

“But I am disappointed and disheartened that Vinnie Paul of PANTERA/HELLYEAH, ALL THAT REMAINS guitarist Oli Herbert and Kyle Pavone of WE CAME AS ROMANS were not acknowledged in the annual ‘Memoriam’ list this year.

“There’s a committee at The Recording Academy and, in December, they put together a list that goes into the hundreds, 300 to 400 people. They go through that list and this committee votes. And from that, they cut it down to a reasonable number for television. I get it. But that is not an excuse for not including my friend Vinnie Paul of PANTERA/HELLYEAH, who has in fact been nominated for four Grammy Awards.

“I am very much aware that our genre is still not given the respect that it deserves. This is why I’m involved. That’s why I was there, in my leather jacket and horns raised, representing my genre presenting awards at the pre-televised ceremony. That is why I was present at the televised show, sitting next to the cool kids.

“Like anything in this world, if you want change, you must take action.

“If I threw in the towel the first or hundredth time someone didn’t take me seriously or told me I couldn’t make it ‘cuz I was a girl… then all the hard work and passion I bear for my love of music would be wasted. So, with the same passion, I will not waste my time in the light. I will continue to be an ambassador for rock and to fight for the respect that it deserves.”

The Recording Academy didn’t completely forget about Abbott, Herbert and Pavone, as they were listed — along with several hundred other musicians and folks important to the industry — on the Grammy.com web site under the “Recording Academy Remembers Those We Lost: Grammy In Memoriam” section.

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It was a whirlwind of a Grammy Week. It was so wonderful to be nominated, and I’m honored to have lost that Grammy to one of my influences, Chris Cornell. His children got up on stage and filled my heart with such love as they paid tribute to their father. But I am disappointed and disheartened that Vinnie Paul of Pantera/ Hell Yeah,All That Remains guitarist Oli Herbert and Kyle Pavone of We Came As Romans were not acknowledged in the Annual Memoriam list this year. There’s a committee at The Recording Academy and, in December, they put together a list that goes into the hundreds, 300 to 400 people. They go through that list and this committee votes. And from that, they cut it down to a reasonable number for television. I get it. But that is not an excuse for not including my friend Vinnie Paul of Pantera/ Hell Yeah, who has in fact…been nominated for 4 Grammy awards. I am very much aware that our genre is still not given the respect that it deserves. This is why I’m involved. That’s why I was there, in my leather jacket and horns raised, representing my genre Presenting Awards at the Pre Televised ceremony. That is why I was present at the televised show, sitting next to the cool kids. Like anything in this world, if you want change, you must take action. If I threw in the towel the first or hundredth time someone didn’t take me seriously or told me I couldn’t make it cuz I was a girl… then all the hard work and passion I bear for my love of music would be wasted. So, with the same passion, I will not waste my time in the light. I will continue to be an ambassador for Rock and to fight for the respect that it deserves. -Lzzy Hale #RaiseYourHorns #TheGrammys #RockNeverDies

A post shared by LZZY HALE (@officiallzzyhale) on Feb 11, 2019 at 12:31pm PST