The 68th Annual Grammy Awards were intended to celebrate the year’s best in music.
Instead, the evening transformed into a coordinated protest against U.S. immigration enforcement, where “ICE OUT” pins replaced diamond necklaces and headliners demanded the agency’s abolition.
But amidst the sea of political uniformity, one figure stood in stark contrast.
Emily Austin, the sports broadcaster and reporter known for her NBA coverage, walked the red carpet not with a slogan of dissent, but with a clutch emblazoned with the American flag.
Los Ángeles, CA February 1, 2026 Emily Austin arrives on the carpet at the 68th Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
In a room where “anti-ICE” functioned as an unspoken entry requirement into the cultural elite, Austin stood alone, openly expressing pride in her country and support for the laws that protect it.
In an exclusive interview with OutKick the day after the Grammys, Austin described what it was like to be the solitary patriot at an event dominated by anti-ICE rhetoric.
Emily Austin Interview_ ICE OUT Hypocrisy.mp4
Her account painted a picture of an industry steeped in performative activism, where wealthy celebrities denounce borders while surrounded by the most intense security money can buy.
That contrast became immediately clear on the red carpet, where Austin’s American flag purse drew outsized attention from the anti-ICE crowd.
“First of all, I never thought in a million years that this little bag from Amazon would make the rounds that it did on the media just for loving my country,” Austin said.
The Fortress of Hypocrisy
For Austin, the irony began long before she entered the arena.
While broadcast cameras focused on speeches demanding the abolition of borders, the physical reality of the Grammys told a different story.
The safety of attendees was paramount, enforced through layers of security indistinguishable from the law enforcement infrastructure being criticized on stage.
Los Ángeles, CA February 1, 2026 Emily Austin arrives on the carpet at the 68th Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
She rejected the notion that the celebrities leading the charge were activists at all.
“You call them activists, which I think is such a compliment,” she added. “They’re not activists. I actually believe that they’re all hypocrites.”
Austin described a fortress-like environment greeting guests upon arrival.
“At the Grammys yesterday, as someone who was there, I walk in, crazy security checks, barricades 15 feet tall, police with machine guns,” she recounted. “And because that wasn’t enough, each celebrity had their own private entourage of security.”
To Austin, the message was unavoidable.
“So clearly they feel security should exist,” she said. “They believe in borders when it comes to their homes.”
She noted that many of the night’s most vocal critics live in gated communities, insulated from the consequences of the policies they publicly support.
“It really reminds me of communism for thee, not for me,” Austin observed. “It’s very easy for them to go out there and talk, but they’ll never put their money where their mouth is.”
READ: Super Bowl Halftime Performer Bad Bunny Goes Off On America, Immigration During Grammys Speech
Her standard, she said, was simple.
“If you don’t believe in border security, don’t live in a house with gates. If you don’t believe in law enforcement, don’t hire private security.”
The ‘Sheep’ Mentality on the Red Carpet
Inside the arena, Austin said the pressure to conform was unmistakable.
The “ICE OUT” pins were handed out freely, and according to Austin, many celebrities who arrived without them quickly put them on before stepping onto the red carpet.
“My main problem was that people are sheep, and I don’t say that lightly,” she said. “There were a lot of celebrities who showed up not wearing the pins, but then someone handed them one. They put it on and suddenly make a statement they’re not educated about.”
To Austin, the casual adoption of a radical political stance was more than trendy posturing. It was deeply disrespectful.
“To me it’s ignorant, it’s foolish, and it’s so disrespectful to our law enforcement,” she said. “The same law enforcement they subconsciously admit they can’t live without.”
Los Ángeles, CA February 1, 2026 Emily Austin arrives on the carpet at the 68th Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Despite the visual consensus on television, Austin said the political unity was thinner than it appeared.
When people noticed her American flag bag, the response often wasn’t hostility but admiration.
“Every five minutes, every commercial break, someone would come up to me and say, ‘We love your bag. You’re so brave,’” Austin recalled. “And I was like, ‘Say it louder. Say it louder.’”
Those interactions revealed what she described as a culture of silence in Hollywood.
“There are so many people who believe in ICE, believe in the police, respect them, and they’ll never say it,” she said. “They’re afraid.”
Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish and Celebrity Rhetoric
Bad Bunny’s acceptance speech was one of the night’s most talked-about moments.
“We’re not savages, we’re not animals… we are Americans,” he declared, pushing back on claims that federal agents view Latinos as criminals.
Austin acknowledged his talent while questioning the message.
“Bad Bunny is one of the most talented singers ever, his talent is undoubtable,” she said. “But am I upset he used that platform to preach anti-ICE rhetoric? Of course.”
She added that she believed the comments reflected influence from advisers rather than deep personal conviction.
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“I don’t think he’s so well-informed,” Austin said. “I think he has a team telling him what to say.”
She also pointed out a line from his speech that went largely unmentioned.
“He thanked people who left their country to come here and make it,” she noted. “That’s acknowledging that America offers opportunities you don’t get elsewhere.”
WATCH FULL INTERVIEW:
OutKick / Emily Austin Interview.mp4
Her reaction to Billie Eilish was far less forgiving.
When Eilish took the stage and declared “F*** ICE,” Austin said she was stunned, particularly given the singer’s reliance on law enforcement after a recent break-in at her home.
“You live in a gated multimillion-dollar house. You called 911,” Austin said. “And you’re the one saying ICE out? Shame on you.”
A Culture of Fear, From Sports to Music
Austin said the silence she witnessed at the Grammys mirrors what she has seen throughout professional sports.
In the NBA, she explained, players and coaches who dissent from progressive orthodoxy often choose self-preservation over honesty.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was recently forced to retract previous comments about ICE after OutKick (yours truly) asked him about misinformation he had repeated regarding federal agents.
READ: Steve Kerr Apologizes For Spreading ‘Misinformation’ Related To ICE
“It is so hard to come out and retract a statement,” Austin said. “I respect him so much for that.”
Others, she noted, stay quiet.
“A lot of NBA players agree with me,” Austin said. “But they’ll never speak up.”
The Acceptance Speech That Wasn’t
The Grammys will be remembered by many as a night of protest.
For Emily Austin, it was a moment of clarity, one that revealed the difference between performative virtue and lived values.
Though she never took the stage, Austin shared what her acceptance speech would have been.
“I want to thank the United States of America,” she said. “As a woman, as a Jewish person, I can live freely here. I can chase the American dream safely, and I couldn’t have done that anywhere else.”
As she exited the Crypto.com Arena, passing the barricades, armed police, and private security teams protecting the night’s loudest activists, Austin’s American flag bag made a quiet statement.
Even in Hollywood, patriotism hasn’t disappeared. It just waits for someone willing to carry it.
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela