Over the last few weeks, awards season has entered full swing. On February 1st perhaps the most anticipated award ceremony of the year, the Grammys, took place at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles. The 68th Grammys, hosted by comedian Trevor Noah, brought much excitement but not without some controversy. Some of the most controversial moments of the night revolved around the many celebrities that spoke up and condemned ICE’s actions through their speeches. ICE, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, is the police-like force that has recently been utilized by the Trump administration to combat immigration. If there’s one thing to take away from the Grammys this year it’s that celebrities are not shying away from getting political.
Ice Out Pins
By far one of the most talked about moments from the red carpet this year was the prominent presence of celebrities wearing small pins reading, “ICE OUT.” These pins made appearances on many celebs and made it very apparent that this was going to be one of the most politicized Grammys in years. Celebrities from Billie Eilish to Kehlani sported these white pins as a way to stand in solidarity with immigrants and criticize ICE’s recent actions. Though media coverage of the ICE out pins was much more widespread, this isn’t the first year celebrities have sported pins on the red carpet as a statement about politics. In the past many artists including Boygenius and Billie Eilish have worn pins such as “Artists4Ceasefire” to call for a ceasefire in the Israel/ Palestine War.
Artists Speeches
While these small pins caused many viral moments and buzz, they were not the only way that celebrities chose to speak out. Many of the awardees chose to use time during their acceptance speeches to openly criticize ICE’s actions.
One of the most prominent speeches of the night came from multi-platinum, six-time Grammy winning artist, Bad Bunny. He began his speech by saying, “Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say: ICE out!” After pausing he resumed by saying, “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens and we are Americans.” This acceptance speech came a week before his now wildly successful, but controversial Super Bowl halftime performance.
Many other stars used their speeches to make similar statements. When Billie Eilish won “Song of the Year” for her hit “Wildflower”, she stated, “No one is illegal on stolen land. We need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting.” And while it may seem like Eilish had the best intentions with this message, it has not been met with the best response.
After this speech many are now criticizing the young pop phenom after it came to light that her three million dollar mansion sits on Tongva tribal land in Los Angeles. Many have called Eilish out saying that this statement came off as uneducated and hypocritical.
Real Time host, Bill Maher, spoke just days later of Ellish’s speech stating, “You don’t know facts.”
Even a spokesperson for the Tongva tribe themselves publicly stated, “It is our hope that in future discussions, the tribe can explicitly be referenced to ensure the public understand that the greater Los Angeles Basin remains Gabrieleno Tongva territory.”
Amid all the criticism Eilish’s brother, Finneas, has continued to support his sister by calling out those who criticized Eilish. On Instagram Threads he wrote, “Seeing a lot of very powerful old white men outraged about what my 24 year old sister said during her acceptance speech. We can literally see your names in the Epstein files.”
These statements from both of the siblings made it crystal clear neither of them are afraid of speaking up and sharing their opinions about the current political circumstances.
While public figures, such as Eilish and Bad Bunny, certainly had some of the most controversially received speeches, other artists weren’t safe either from these online criticisms.
Even R&B singer and grammy winner, SZA, who chose to keep her speech a bit more general, possibly to shy away from getting too political, has received mixed reactions online from fans and haters alike.
SZA stated during her acceptance speech with Kendrick Lamar for Record of the Year, “Please don’t fall into despair,”…“We’re not governed by the government, we’re governed by God.”
Many felt that this speech was incredibly tone deaf, while others said the message was uplifting and inspiring.
Overall this year’s Grammys had their fair share of controversial moments, political speeches, and mixed reactions but the awardees and artists this year made one thing clear: art always has been and always will be political.
