White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt sneered at the “elitist” celebrities who spoke out against President Donald Trump and his immigrant deportation agenda during a politically-charged edition of the Grammy Awards last Sunday.
Leavitt railed against the Hollywood set while talking to the press outside the White House on Tuesday.
“I think it’s very ironic and frankly sad to see celebrities who live in gated communities with private security, with millions of dollars to spend protecting themselves, trying to just demonize law enforcement,” she said.
During the Grammys, an A-list roster of musical artists, including Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber and Joni Mitchell, denounced Immigration and Customs Enforcement by wearing “ICE OUT” pins. Several of the night’s big winners also used their stage time to rail against the agency and defend immigrants.
Leavitt on Bad Bunny: I think it’s very sad to see celebrities who live in gated communities with private security trying to demonize law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/FTEhliLy1V
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 3, 2026
Among the most high-profile critics was Album of the Year winner, Bad Bunny, who received a 30-second standing ovation when he began his first acceptance speech of the evening by urging immigration agents to back down.
“We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we are not aliens, we are humans, and we are Americans,” the Puerto Rican superstar said.
Bad Bunny demanded “ICE out” while accepting his first honor of the evening at Sunday’s Grammy Awards.
VALERIE MACON via Getty Images
Leavitt painted the political statements as a clear example of Hollywood hypocrisy, then she invoked the names of two people who were killed by undocumented immigrants during President Joe Biden’s administration.
“You didn’t hear this same kind of uproar from celebrities in Hollywood when the previous administration allowed an invasion of our nation’s borders and allowed innocent women and girls like Jocelyn Nungaray and Laken Riley to be killed and raped and murdered at the hands of people who should have never been in our country in the first place.”
Leavitt also attempted to boost the reputation of ICE officers and the Trump deportation crackdown.
“Now you have law enforcement who are simply trying to do their jobs to remove violent predators like those who took the lives of innocent Americans,” she said. “There was no uproar from Hollywood and the elitist crowd at the Grammys then, but there is now, and I think that speaks to the unfortunate irony that we’re seeing in Hollywood.”