Forget thanks. At least two musicians decided they had more important topics to cover when they accepted their Grammys on Sunday night.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say, ‘ICE out,'” Bad Bunny said after he took the stage to accept his Grammy for best música urbana album for “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.”
“We’re not savage. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans,” he continued.
The Grammy Awards in Los Angeles proved to be a political hot spot, with at least a dozen artists — including Billie Eilish and Olivia Dean — making some form of statement against the Trump administration’s immigration operations across the country.
Justin and Hailey Bieber, Carole King, Teddy Swims, Joni Mitchell, Finneas, Eilish, Samara Joy, Lachi and Kehlani all wore pins that read “ICE OUT.”
Bon Iver wore a bright orange whistle on his lapel to honor “observers” in Minneapolis, who he said patrol the streets and blow their whistles when Immigration and Customs Enforcement is near to protect their neighbors and communities.
Last month, two American protesters in Minneapolis were fatally shot by federal agents who were carrying out immigration operations in the city. Their deaths have amplified calls for ICE to leave Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Chicago and other cities where immigration raids have taken place.
Later in the show, Eilish and her brother, Finneas, accepted the Grammy for song of the year and took their short moment onstage to address immigration.
“No one is illegal on stolen land,” Eilish said in her acceptance speech. “It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now, and I just, I feel really hopeful in this room.”
She continued: “And I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting and our voices really do matter, and the people matter.”
She kept speaking, but the broadcast bleeped out the rest of her message, seemingly because she used profanity. She and Finneas then returned to their seats.
The pair were accepting an award for Eilish’s song “Wildflower” off her 2024 album “Hit Me Hard and Soft.”
Dean, fresh off a win for best new artist, also praised immigrant families in her acceptance speech early in the night. It was the first statement of the official award show.
“I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant,” Dean said. “I wouldn’t be here — I’m a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated. … We’re nothing without each other.”
Bad Bunny’s statement comes a week before he is set to perform the Super Bowl halftime show at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
The choice to showcase Bad Bunny at the game has led to backlash from some, who have taken issue with a Spanish-language artist who has been critical of President Donald Trump taking over the prestigious halftime show stage. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has defended the decision.
Bad Bunny, who won three Grammys on Sunday, including album of the year, will make history as the first Spanish-language Latin solo artist to headline the Super Bowl halftime show. He will also be the first reggaeton artist to do so.
He recently wrapped a Puerto Rican residency to perform and celebrate his latest release. He said he decided against touring the album in the U.S. in part because of concern about deportations in the U.S.
“People from the U.S. could come here to see the show. Latinos and Puerto Ricans of the United States could also travel here, or to any part of the world,” he said in an interview with i-D magazine. “But there was the issue of — like, f—–g ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
During his Grammy acceptance speech, Bad Bunny said: “Hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love.”
“We need to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love. We don’t hate them, we love our people, we love our family, and that’s the way to do it,” he added, “with love.”
