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Joni Mitchell Says She's Removing Music from Spotify

Joni Mitchell arrives at the 2015 Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala in Beverly Hills, Calif. Feb. 7, 2015. (AP)
Joni Mitchell arrives at the 2015 Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala in Beverly Hills, Calif. Feb. 7, 2015. (AP)
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Joni Mitchell Says She's Removing Music from Spotify

Joni Mitchell arrives at the 2015 Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala in Beverly Hills, Calif. Feb. 7, 2015. (AP)
Joni Mitchell arrives at the 2015 Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala in Beverly Hills, Calif. Feb. 7, 2015. (AP)

Joni Mitchell has pledged to remove her music from Spotify, just a few days after fellow singer-songwriter icon Neil Young did the same.

In a note on her official website titled "I Stand With Neil Young!," Mitchell wrote: "I've decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue."

It is unclear when Mitchell's music will be removed from the platform. Representatives for Spotify and Mitchell did not immediately respond to Variety's request for comment.

Young first threatened to pull his music from Spotify in an open letter on Monday, citing his objections to Spotify podcaster Joe Rogan's statements regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.

"Please immediately inform Spotify that I am actively canceling all my music availability on Spotify as soon as possible," Young wrote. "I am doing this because Spotify is spreading false information about vaccines - potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them."

On Wednesday, Young's music was officially removed from the streaming platform.

In a statement at the time, Spotify said: "We want all the world's music and audio content to be available to Spotify users. With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators. We have detailed content policies in place and we've removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID since the start of the pandemic. We regret Neil's decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon."

Rogan hosts "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast on Spotify, which is the platform's most-listened to podcast.

Earlier this month, a group of public health officials urged Spotify to take action against Rogan in an open letter, writing that he has a "concerning history of broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic."

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New Film Academy Members Include Danielle Deadwyler, Ariana Grande, Jason Momoa, Conan O’Brien

Ariana Grande. (Getty Images/AFP)
Ariana Grande. (Getty Images/AFP)
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New Film Academy Members Include Danielle Deadwyler, Ariana Grande, Jason Momoa, Conan O’Brien

Ariana Grande. (Getty Images/AFP)
Ariana Grande. (Getty Images/AFP)

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited 534 new members to its organization on Thursday, adding recent Oscar nominees and many more to Hollywood's most exclusive club.

The newest class of Oscar voters includes a number of stars like Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa, Aubrey Plaza, Danielle Deadwyler and Andrew Scott. They, along with filmmakers, below-the-line professionals and executives will bring the film academy's membership total to 11,120, with voting members numbering 10,143.

That's the largest membership ever for the academy. Since the #OscarsSoWhite backlash, the film academy has added thousands of members to swell its ranks and diversify its voting body. This year's class is 41% female, 45% from underrepresented communities and 55% from outside the US.

Those new members will make the entire academy 35% women, 22% from underrepresented communities and 21% international.

"We are thrilled to invite this esteemed class of artists, technologists, and professionals to join the Academy," said academy chief executive Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang in a statement. "Through their commitment to filmmaking and to the greater movie industry, these exceptionally talented individuals have made indelible contributions to our global filmmaking community."

Invitations went out to 91 Oscar nominees and 26 winners, including best actress winner Mikey Madison ("Anora") and best supporting actor winner Kieran Culkin ("A Real Pain"). Recent nominees who were invited include Ariana Grande, Jeremy Strong, Sebastian Stan and Monica Barbara. Gints Zilbalodis, the director of best animated film winner "Flow" will join the animation branch.

Other filmmakers set to join the academy include Mike Flanagan ("Doctor Sleep"), Azazel Jacobs ("His Three Daughters"), Brady Corbet ("The Brutalist"), Coraline Fargeat ("The Substance") Jane Schoenbrun ("I Saw the TV Glow"), Halina Reijn ("Babygirl") and Gia Coppola ("The Last Showgirl").

Payal Kapadia ("All We Imagine As Light"), Lena Waithe ("Queen & Slim") and Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley of "Sing Sing" were all invited in the writers branch. In the music branch, new members include Brandi Carlile ("Elton John: Never Too Late"), Branford Marsalis ("Rustin") and Youssou N’Dour ("Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love").

The last two emcees to host the Oscars — Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O'Brien — were also invited as members. After a well-reviewed broadcast that drew 19.7 million viewers, O'Brien is returning to host the 2026 Academy Awards on March 15.

A few new rules will await the 2025 academy members.

For the first time, members will be required to watch all nominated films in each category to be eligible to vote in the final road of Oscar voting. This year, a new award category for casting will be voted on for the upcoming Oscars. The academy has also established a new Oscar for stunt design, but that won't be given out until 2028.