By Danielle Broadway
LOS ANGELES, Feb 1 (Reuters) – Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny used his first televised acceptance speech at the 2026 Grammy awards on Sunday to sharply criticize U.S. immigration authorities, declaring “ICE out” to denounce federal agents’ actions.
“We’re not aliens,” he said on stage, after being honored for his album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” with the best music urbana award. “We are humans and we are Americans,” he added.
Often referred to as the “King of Trap,” Bad Bunny said that love is the only thing more powerful than hate and urged people to confront cruelty with compassion. “We love our people. We love our family,” he added.
Bad Bunny has openly criticized President Donald Trump’s administration for its immigration policies and has drawn backlash from right-wing conservative groups for being the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show performer, including from U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
Bad Bunny skipped the continental United States on his recent concert tour, saying he feared federal agents would show up to arrest his fans.
Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Minneapolis and students across the United States staged walkouts on Friday to demand the withdrawal of federal immigration agents from Minnesota following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens.
Other attendees at the 2026 Grammy awards made similar remarks.
Billie Eilish, who wore an “ICE out” pin, also used her time on stage accepting the award for best song of the year to call out ICE, which stands for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“No one is illegal on stolen land,” she said on stage after having her song “Wildflower” recognized.
“F#*k ICE,” the “bad guy” singer added.
“Right now, feeling any sense of joy and lightness feels a little bit irresponsible,” lead vocalist of the band OK Go, Damian Kulash, told Reuters on the red carpet.
“Our own government has raised an army of, like, masked anonymous men to attack its own people and that feels utterly irresponsible for us to be celebrating anything right now,” he added.
Songwriter Amy Allen, who has written songs for top singers like Sabrina Carpenter and Harry Styles, walked the carpet wearing an “ICE out” pin.
She said the pin has a message that should be important to everybody because there is so much going on in this country that is “horrific to see.”
“I think is really important for all of us in the music industry, in any industry. So I’m very happy to be wearing it today and hopefully see a lot of other pins out there, too,” she added.
(Reporting by Danielle Broadway; Editing by Howard Goller)
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