Macy Gray Denies Groping Allegations from Producer Dallas Austin
American soul singer Macy Gray, famous for her raspy vocals and hit song I Try, is fighting allegations that she groped Grammy Award-winning producer Dallas Austin during a recording session. The controversy comes after Gray faced intense scrutiny last year for storming off ITV's The Masked Singer following an early elimination.
Allegations and Denials
Austin, 55, who has worked with music legends including Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Gwen Stefani, claimed he felt violated after an incident during sessions for Gray's third album The Trouble with Being Myself. He alleged that Gray put her hands down my pants, inside my underwear, squeezes me and then goes, 'Ooh, nice,' and then took her hand out of my pants.
Now speaking publicly for the first time, the 58-year-old Ohio-born star firmly denies the claims. I don't know what he [Dallas] is talking about, it doesn't sound like anything I would do, Gray states. The singer, who has released ten albums and sold more than 25 million records, calls the accusations completely illogical.
Questioning the Claims
How would I even do that? Gray questions. I don't even know how you would go down into a man's pants without him even stopping you first. Or even how would you undo his belt. The divorced singer, who has three adult children from her marriage to mortgage broker Tracey Hinds and lives in Los Angeles, says her family was left distraught by the allegations.
I talked about it with my daughter because she was really upset about it, Gray reveals. I run into Dallas every once and a while and he's never said to me, 'remember that time you put your hand in my pants?' While no criminal action has been taken regarding the alleged incident, Gray is finding solace in her music and is putting the final touches to her new album.
New Album and Artistic Philosophy
The singer plans to call her forthcoming album Love Songs for Big Hearts and Robots, explaining her unique perspective on modern humanity. I think that we [humans] all are half and half at this point, Gray says. We're a robot when it comes to social media. You wake up, you roll over, you look at your social media. The album will have a love song for everybody.
Gray remains a purist when it comes to her art and expresses strong opposition to artificial intelligence in music creation. I think AI will eventually be the absolute death of music, she warns. I think if the labels and the radio stations continue to endorse AI, I think they will kill music, because what you're doing is supporting technology.
The singer elaborates on her concerns about technological influence in the industry. You might not have to invest as much, but you're not going to get that return. AI is never going to come up with a Bruno Mars or a Madonna or a Macy Gray. Ever since technology became such a big part of the industry, it's gotten smaller and smaller, and you would think that everybody would have learned from that.
Reality Television and Future Plans
Macy Gray remains uncertain about returning to reality television after her experiences on The Masked Singer and MTV's The Surreal Life: Villa of Secrets in 2024. It's definitely odd walking around and the camera's following you, she admits. People don't realise how much they really pull these moments from here and there.
Having appeared on The Masked Singer in Australia, the USA, and the UK, Gray says she would only return to the franchise if invited as a judge rather than a contestant. As she approaches her sixties, the singer says she's feeling more comfortable in her own skin and accepting of the aging process.
That's one thing you cannot defeat, is getting older, Gray reflects. There's nothing you can do about it. So, I decided to just age as gracefully as I can. I'm terrified of gastric surgery because I've seen something of it and I just I'm so scared of that. I'm probably just going to look how I look.
The singer concludes with practical advice about aging gracefully. There's little stuff you can do, like using creams and exercise and all that stuff, but everybody just has to face it one day. You're going to get old.
