Published 02/02/2026 13:17 | Edited 02/02/2026 13:33
This year’s Grammy Awards, held in Los Angeles this Sunday (1), were marked by a sequence of protests against the Donald Trump government’s immigration policy, transforming the music industry’s main awards show into a stage for political contestation.
The 68th Recording Academy ceremony brought together the main names in international music and had Bad Bunny as the winner of Album of the Year — the first time that an album in Spanish has won the award.
Upon taking the stage, the Puerto Rican opened his speech with a direct criticism of United States migration policy.
“Before thanking God, I will say: out with ICE”, he stated, to applause from the audience. Then he added: “We are not savages, we are not animals, we are not aliens. We are human and we are Americans.”
Puerto Rico is a North American territory and its citizens have suffered from the repressive and violent policies of Trump and his activists.
The artist dedicated the victory “to all the people who had to leave their homes to follow their dreams”, mentioning immigrants and Latinos living in the United States.
Defender of Puerto Rico’s independence, Bad Bunny has criticized ICE’s actions and avoided taking tours to the mainland of the country due to deportation operations.
In the main category of the night, he beat artists like Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, Justin Bieber and Tyler, the Creator.
Singer Billie Eilish, winner of the Grammy for Song of the Year for “Wildflower”, also adopted a confrontational tone. On stage, he declared: “No one is illegal on stolen land.”
She added that it is necessary to “continue fighting, speaking and protesting”, in reference to migration policies. During the ceremony, Eilish and other artists wore brooches with the inscription “OUT OF ICE”, a gesture that was repeated among names like Carole King and Justin Bieber.
The ceremony’s host, comedian Trevor Noah, expanded the political tone by mentioning Trump in a joke made at the end of the event. He stated that the Grammy is an award “that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland,” adding that since “Epstein’s island is gone,” the president “needs another one to spend time with Bill Clinton.”
The reference was to the private island in the Caribbean where financier Jeffrey Epstein, convicted of sexual crimes, maintained his residence. Trump’s name appears in documents in the case, although he denies any illegal involvement.
After the broadcast, Trump reacted on his social network, calling the Grammys “virtually unwatchable” and threatening to sue Noah for defamation. The president stated that he “was never on Epstein’s island” and attacked the presenter in personal terms.
Source: vermelho.org.br
