In an unusually political ceremony, the 68th edition of the Grammy Awards held on Sunday in Los Angeles became a scene of protests and statements against the immigration policies promoted by the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. The night, which crowned figures like Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamarwas marked by a tone of activism that transcended the musical and put one of the most polarizing debates in American politics at the center of the event.
Before the television broadcast began, several artists used the red carpet to express their rejection of the immigration raids and the policies of the Trump administration. The singer Becky G attracted attention with a manicure in which she carried the message “F ICE” as a symbolic protest against the immigration agency, while others wore badges with the legend “ICE OUT” on their clothes to make their posture visible.
One of the most resonant interventions of the night was that of the Puerto Rican Bad Bunny, who upon accepting the award for Album of the Year for his work I SHOULD TAKE MORE PHOTOSaddressed the public directly to criticize ICE. “Before thanking God, I am going to say: ICE out“, he proclaimed, before adding: “We are not savages, we are not animals, we are not aliens; We are human and we are Americans,” in a message that combined denunciation and a call for empathy.
The singer Billie Eilishawarded the Grammy for Song of the Yearalso took advantage of his speech to condemn the practices of the immigration agency, stating: “No one is illegal on stolen land” (“No one is illegal on stolen lands”), and reaffirming his commitment to social justice and peaceful protest from his platform.
On the other hand, the performance of the presenter Trevor Noah It was not free of political tensions: in addition to humor linked to public figures close to Trump, his monologue included comments that alluded to the former president and controversial events linked to the case files. Jeffrey Epsteinwhich led Trump to react with annoyance on his social networks after the ceremony. A scandal that has been hitting the president and other celebrities for some time, such as former President Bill Clinton and former Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom, when various images that the tycoon who died in 2019, accused of sexual abuse and pedophilia, kept in his files were disseminated.
Donald Trump’s own public response came on his social networks, especially on Truth Social, where he harshly criticized Noah and the media coverage, by CBS, of the awards ceremony. In a message released after the ceremony, the Head of State denied claims made about him during the event, described references made in the monologue as false and defamatory and warned of taking legal action against the presenter, whom he called a “loser” and “talentless.” Finally, the North American president warned that he will go to court to file a lawsuit with the actor for his comments.
The night of the Grammys thus reflected a shift beyond music: several of the most influential artists on the contemporary scene used their global visibility to question American immigration policy and the role of ICE, while Trump’s response through his networks underlined the polarization that surrounds pop culture and politics in the country.
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