Monae introduced Kesha’s “Praying” performance, which also featured Camila Cabello, Cyndi Lauper, Julia Michaels, Andra Day.
“Tonight, I am proud to stand in solidarity as not just an artist, but a young woman, with my fellow sisters in this room who make up the music industry: artists, writers, assistants, publicists, CEOs, producers, engineers, and women from all sectors of the business.
“We are also daughters, wives, mothers, sisters and human beings.
“And to those who would dare try to silence us, we offer you two words: Time’s Up,” she said.
“We say Time’s Up for pay inequality; Time’s Up for discrimination; Time’s Up for harassment of any kind; and Time’s Up for the abuse of power.”
Janelle has previously voiced her concerns about diversity in the music industry, tweeting sections of a recent study that 90% of recent Grammy nominees have been male.
Incredibly, the study found that just 9.3% of nominees between 2013 and 2018 were female.
2017 was a 6-year low for female artists, only 16.8% of popular artists were women. #TimesUp #Grammys2018
— Janelle Monáe, Cindi (@JanelleMonae) January 28, 2018
A total of 90.7% of nominees between 2013 and 2018 were male, meaning just 9.3% were women. #TimesUp #Grammys
— Janelle Monáe, Cindi (@JanelleMonae) January 28, 2018
Watch the powerful speech.