The Grammys turned into a loud political stage last night, with many stars using the broadcast to take aim at ICE and immigration policy while the spectacle itself kept its usual security and glamour.
Several performers treated the ceremony less like an awards show and more like a protest, displaying “ICE Out” pins and making clear political statements on stage. Billie Eillish was among those wearing the pin, echoing moments from the Golden Globes earlier this season. The mix of celebrity activism and entertainment felt intentional and coordinated.
Billie Eillish publicly said America was “stolen land” and added that “no one is illegal” during her appearance, a message that grabbed headlines right away. That language resonated with fans who want change while aggravating viewers who see it as performative. The comment pushed familiar cultural debates into a room built for performance, not policy.
Eillish’s remarks also highlighted uncomfortable historical notes, since the land many Americans now inhabit was once occupied by tribes like the Tongva. That fact complicates the rhetoric but doesn’t sterilize the optics of wealthy celebrities lecturing from their red carpets. It’s the kind of contrast critics seize on when calling out elite hypocrisy.
It’s worth noting that Eillish reportedly has a restraining order against a man who entered her home, which only adds another layer to the public narrative. The contrast between harsh political statements about borders and personal demands for safety at home read as ironic to many.
Bad Bunny, another high-profile winner and next week’s Super Bowl halftime headliner, echoed similar sentiments when accepting his award, drawing cheers from a crowd mostly sympathetic to his message. Many of these artists live in secure, gated communities and travel with layers of protection that most Americans do not enjoy.
Attending the Grammys requires strict ID checks and high-security screening, a detail that undercuts the theatrical pushback against border enforcement for some observers. That visible contradiction — demanding open borders in rhetoric while relying on closed, controlled spaces in practice — fed a lot of the coverage and jokes. Viewers noticed the disconnect and reacted accordingly.
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was in the audience, and the show even gave a shout-out from host Noah Trevor during the broadcast. Trevor’s comedy later landed in political crosshairs when former President Trump threatened legal action over a comment about Epstein Island. The line between a joke and a legal claim moved quickly from stage banter to national headlines.
President Trump posted a direct response with precise language on Truth Social, and his message was blunt and exact. “I can’t speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonight’s false and defamatory statement, have never been accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It looks like I’ll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty.”
Beyond the controversy, the Grammys continue to struggle with audience erosion that predates this ceremony but may be worsened by overt politicization. Over the last decade the awards show has lost roughly 10 million viewers, with notably low tune-in in 2021 and 2022. Even between 2024 and 2025 viewership declined, suggesting a long-term trend not easily reversed by star power or spectacle.
The political tone on display feeds the argument that Hollywood and much of the entertainment elite are increasingly out of step with ordinary Americans. Ratings trends offer a blunt metric for that disconnect, but the broader issue is cultural credibility. When celebrities lecture from secure stages about policies that affect everyday safety, it invites pushback.
For many conservatives the Grammys felt less like a music celebration and more like a messaging operation, framed by high production values but heavy on ideology. Viewers who turned on the show for performance and craft found themselves watching positions being amplified to millions. That shift matters because awards shows survive on broad appeal, not preaching to a narrow choir.
Editor’s Note: Democrats are fanning the flames and raising the rhetoric by comparing ICE to the Gestapo, fascists, and secret police. That comparison is extreme and designed to inflame rather than inform, and it only drives more people away from those messages when they expect entertainment instead of agitprop.
