Between the typical displays of red-carpet glamor and performances by some of music’s biggest names, the 68th Grammy Awards distinguished themselves from past years’ ceremonies with their distinctly political tenor.
A number of celebrities who were in attendance at the awards—including those who took home its top honors—seized the opportunity to make pointed statements criticizing President Donald Trump and his Administration.
The event’s host, comedian Trevor Noah, drew particular ire—and the threat of a potential lawsuit—from Trump with a joke that appeared to link the President and the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
But the night saw many other high-profile figures take a stand against the Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown as it faces fierce backlash following the fatal shootings of two people by federal agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last month.
Several Grammy winners used their speeches to make statements against aggressive federal enforcement efforts in American cities and in support of the U.S. immigrant population.
Other celebrities donned circular, white “ICE OUT” pins, which were also worn by a number of attendees at last month’s Golden Globes.
Read more: The Best, Worst, and Most Memorable Moments of the 2026 Grammys
The political displays at the Sunday event follow other recent pushback against federal immigration enforcement efforts from within the music community. Last week, the rock legend Bruce Springsteen released a song dedicated to the city of Minneapolis that decried the Administration’s actions and later performed it during a national day of protest in at a concert in the Minnesota city whose proceeds went to shooting victims Renee Good and Alex Pretti’s families. Other artists, including pop stars Olivia Rodrigo and Ariana Grande, have also spoken out against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and in support of demonstrations.
Here’s who made a statement against Trump’s immigration crackdown at music’s biggest night.
Bad Bunny
The Puerto Rican superstar took home three Grammys Sunday night for best global music performance, best música urbana album, and the show’s biggest honor, album of the year, for Debí Tirar Más Fotos, becoming the first Latin artist to win the top award in the show’s 68-year history.
As he took the stage to accept the award for best música urbana album, Bad Bunny said, “before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say: ICE out!”, eliciting cheers from the crowd.
“We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans,” he continued. “I know it’s tough to know not to hate on these days, and I was thinking, sometimes we get contaminados [contaminated]—I don’t know how to say that in English. The hate gets more powerful with more hate.”
Later in the night, he dedicated his acceptance speech for album of the year, which he delivered mostly in Spanish, to “all the people who had to leave their homeland, their country to follow their dreams.”
Bad Bunny’s comments come a week before he is set to headline the Super Bowl LX halftime show.
“I think it’s a terrible choice,” Trump said of the selections of Bad Bunny and Green Day, both of whom have been critical of him, to perform at the event. “All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.” Speaking to right-wing podcast host Benny Johnson after the NFL’s announcement, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that ICE agents would be “all over” the Super Bowl. “I think people should not be coming to the Super Bowl unless they’re law-abiding Americans who love this country,” she said.
Bad Bunny, who endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race, did not include any U.S. locations in his 2025-2026 tour, citing fears that ICE would raid the concert venues.
“People from the US 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 told i-D magazine. “ICE could be outside. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
Billie Eilish
Pop star Billie Eilish, along with her brother and closest collaborator Finneas, won song of the year for “WILDFLOWER,” making them the first to win the award three times.
“No one is illegal on stolen land,” Elish said as she accepted the honor with Finneas by her side.
“It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now and I just feel really hopeful in this room and I feel like we need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting,” she continued. “And our voices really do matter and the people matter— f-ck ICE is all I have to say, sorry.”
Both Eilish and Finneas wore “ICE Out” pins.
Eilish has made other recent statements opposing ICE’s actions in Minneapolis. Posting on social media following Good and Pretti’s killings, she asked, “hey my fellow celebrities u gonna speak up? Or.”
Olivia Dean
The British artist, who took home the award for best new artist on Sunday after rising to the top of the charts in 2025, spoke up for immigrants in her acceptance speech.
“I want to say that I’m a granddaughter of an immigrant,” Dean, who has a British father and Jamaican-Guyanese mother, said in an emotional speech. “I’m a product of bravery and I think those people deserve to be celebrated. We’re nothing without each other.”
Kehlani
The R&B singer, who won best R&B performance and best R&B song for “Folded,” wore an “ICE OUT” pin at Sunday’s ceremony and made comments critical of the agency throughout the night.
“F-ck ICE,” she said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.
“We’re too powerful of a group to all be in the room at the same time and not make some kind of statement in our country,” she continued.
During her acceptance speech later in the night, Kehlani thanked her mother, who adopted her, before again making a political statement.
“Together we are stronger in numbers to speak against all the injustice in the world right now. I hope everybody is inspired to join together as a community of artists and speak out against what’s going on,” she said, before ending her speech with another “f-ck ICE.”
Shaboozey
The singer, a Virginia native born to Nigerian immigrants, dedicated his first Grammy to “all children of immigrants” while thanking his mother for providing for him and his siblings “as an immigrant in this country.”
“Immigrants built this country, literally,” he said during his acceptance speech for best country duo/group performance, which he and rapper-turned-country singer Jelly Roll won for their song “Amen.”
“This is also for those who came to this country in search of better opportunity. To be a part of a nation that promised freedom for all and equal opportunity for everyone willing to work for it,” Shaboozey said. “Thank you for bringing your culture, your music, your stories, and your traditions here. You give America color.”
Gloria Estefan
The Cuban-born artist, who won the best tropical latin album award for Raíces on Sunday night, told The Associated Press on the red carpet, “I have been very vocal about the fact that I’m scared of what I’m seeing in this country. I’ve been living here for decades. This is not the place that I grew up in. We need to all stand up.”
In the press room following her win, Estefan said, “I don’t think anyone would say we want a free-for-all at the border. But what is happening is not at all criminals being arrested. These are people that have families that have contributed to this country for decades.”
A parade of protest pins
A number of other celebrities in attendance at the awards sported what has become a widely recognized symbol of opposition to the Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown: a small, but easily spotable, “ICE OUT” pin about the size of a quarter.
Among those seen wearing the pins were Justin and Hailey Bieber; the 82-year-old Canadian-American singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, who won the Grammy for best historical album; and other musical artists including Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, Justin Vernon, Carole King, Margo Price, and Rhiannon Giddens.
Read more: ‘ICE Out’ Gains Momentum as Cities Across the Country Take Action
“We gotta speak up, we gotta use our platforms however we can,” Giddens told the AP on the red carpet. “It’s very jarring to be here with all this beautiful excess and beauty while there’s things going on, the violence in the streets and the governmental overreach.”
Joy, who took home the award for best jazz vocal album for the third time, said to the outlet, “Now as an adult, I feel compelled and honestly responsible as a fellow human to, at the bare minimum, share and speak out against the violence that has happened—that’s being inflicted upon people by the government.”
Bon Iver’s Vernon also wore a whistle, which he told the AP was intended to honor people who are documenting federal immigration agents’ actions.
“I think there’s a reason that music exists and it’s to heal and to bring people together,” he said. “But the real work are those observers on the on the ground in Minneapolis. We just want to want to shout them out.”
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