The 2026 Grammy Awards took place on Sunday, but amidst the glamor and entertainment, there were protests against the Trump administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
Some celebrities used the platform to speak out against ICE after the agents killed two American citizens this month in Minneapolis, just days apart.
Highlights
- At the 2026 Grammys, many celebrities protested ICE after agents killed two American citizens in Minneapolis this month.
- Bad Bunny won album of the year and condemned ICE during his speech, dedicating his award to immigrants chasing dreams.
- Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, and others wore “ICE Out” pins to raise awareness against ICE’s recent aggressive actions.
- Billie Eilish called out immigration injustice, urging continued fighting and speaking up for the rights of immigrants.
Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican music star whom members of the Trump administration have dissed after he was announced as the headliner for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show, won the dedicated album of the year award.
Bad Bunny spoke up against ICE during his Grammy acceptance speech
Image credits: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
“Before I say thanks to God, I'm going to say, ‘ICE out,’” Bad Bunny said on the stage, accepting the Grammy for his album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos.
“We’re not savage. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans,” he added. “The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love.”
He dedicated the album to “all the people that had to leave their homeland, their country, to follow their dreams.” Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, had previously told i-D magazine that he decided to skip the U.S. on his latest tour over fears of ICE raids.
Over the past month, ICE has been deployed in large numbers across the country, particularly in Minneapolis. Earlier this month, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti were shot and killed by ICE agents. On January, a five-year-old child, Liam Conejo Ramos, was detained by ICE.
The Trump administration has defended these incidents and cited self-defense, despite witness videos showing the opposite.
Justin and Hailey Bieber, Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell, Kehlani, Joni Mitchell, Samara Joy, Carole King, Teddy Swims, and Lachi all wore pins that said “ICE Out.”
Image credits: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
The pins have become somewhat of a staple after they were first spotted at the Golden Globes 2026.
Bon Iver wore a bright orange whistle on his lapel, honoring the “observers” in Minneapolis, individuals who patrol the streets and blow whistles when ICE is near to protect their neighbors. The pins were part of a campaign organized by "a coalition of entertainment industry professionals." Maremoto, MoveOn, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and Working Families Power supported the campaign.
Many celebrities, including Justin and Hailey Bieber, and Billie Eilish, wore ICE Out Pins
Image credits: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Eilish and her brother, Finneas, also spoke up while accepting a Grammy for song of the year. “No one is illegal on stolen land,” Eilish said during her acceptance speech. “It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now, and I just, I feel really hopeful in this room.”
“And I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting and our voices really do matter, and the people matter,” she added.
Singer Olivia Dean spoke about her immigrant roots while accepting the award for best new artist. “I'm up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant. I'm a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated,” Dean said.
Image credits: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Kehlani took to the red carpet to speak up, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “I really wanted to say fuck ICE. We're too powerful of a group to all be in a room at the same time and not make some kind of statement in our country. It's brainless to me.”
Bad Bunny’s comments will increase the controversy he has found himself in since last year. Soon after his NFL announcement, Trump’s adviser, Corey Lewandowski, had warned that ICE would be present at the game. “We will find you, we will apprehend you, we will put you in a detention facility, and we will deport you,” he said. “So know that is a very real situation under this administration, which is contrary to how it used to be.”