Photo from Wikimedia Commons.
The Grammy Awards are a national event that celebrate the best creators in music, podcast, and spoken words. This year’s 68th annual Grammy’s stood out as one of the most politically-charged award shows in recent years. Hosted by comedian Trevor Noah, the night mixed entertainment with political jokes and commentary that sparked controversy both during and after the show.
Noah, who is known for his stand-up comedy and sarcastic humor, made several jokes about current events, including the Epstein files. One joke referenced rapper Nicki Minaj and her recent press appearances with both President Doland Trump and Erika Kirk. Sharing her new opinion on the current state of our government, Minaj’s comments led some fans to spread hate and unfollow her on social media platforms. She met with the President and declared she is “probably the president’s number one fan.” Some people did not like Noah making a joke out of these two events.
Shortly after this comment, another was said: this time accusing President Trump of appearing in the Epstein files.
“That is a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland. Which makes sense, I mean, because Epstein’s island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out on with Bill Clinton,” Noah said during the show.
Trump did not find this comment amusing: almost 24 hours later, he threatened to sue Teavor Noah saying his comment was “false and defamatory.”
As the award show continued, artists like Billie Eilish, Bad Bunny, Olivia Dean, and Shaboozy all spoke about ICE during their speeches. One of the more controversial speeches was from Billie Eilish.
“No one is illegal on stolen land. F*ck ICE,” Eilish said while accepting her award for Song of the Year.
As a response, Sports Broadcaster Emily Austin–known for being pro-ICE-sneered at Eilish while being back row at the Grammys. Recording her reaction, she mocked Billie. Some fans did not appreciate it when she posted this video, and Austin received numerous hate comments from followers.
Other artists who spoke up were children or grandchildren of immigrants who came to the U.S. While Eilish stated her own opinion on the matter despite having no personal experience, others have had to face real events of exclusion because of their race or background. Through everything that has happened, Eilish has been supporting “ICE out” movements and made her beliefs clear to her followers.
Bad Bunny was also a huge topic this year at the Grammy’s in the sense he is performing at the Super Bowl. Since this is happening, there are spectators saying there will be ICE agents outside waiting to catch illegal immigrants.
This year’s Grammys were memorable not just due to who won, but also because of the messages that were made during the show.