Bad Bunny told America “ICE out” on live TV — and the Grammys turned into a political lightning rod
LOS ANGELES — Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny used his first televised acceptance speech at the 2026 Grammy Awards to denounce U.S. immigration authorities, telling viewers “ICE out” as he accepted the award for best música urbana album, and the moment instantly became one of the night’s most replayed clips.
“We’re not aliens,” he said on stage, adding, “We are humans and we are Americans,” according to Reuters’ report of the speech after he was honored for his album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.” Bad Bunny said love is more powerful than hate and urged people to confront cruelty with compassion, words that landed hard in a week when immigration enforcement tactics have been drawing heavy national attention.
The speech did not happen in a vacuum. Reuters reported that thousands of protesters took to the streets in Minneapolis and students across the United States staged walkouts demanding the withdrawal of federal immigration agents from Minnesota after the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens. Those events helped turn “ICE out” from a slogan into a flashpoint, and they also fueled online fights about whether entertainers should be inserting politics into award shows.
Bad Bunny’s political stance has already made him a target. He has criticized Trump’s immigration policies repeatedly and drew backlash from right-wing groups after being named the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show performer, including criticism from U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Bad Bunny skipped the continental United States on a recent tour, saying he feared federal agents would show up to arrest his fans — a claim that has been debated online but was presented by Reuters as part of his publicly stated reasoning.
He wasn’t alone at the Grammys. Billie Eilish wore an “ICE out” pin and used her acceptance speech for song of the year to call out ICE, saying “No one is illegal on stolen land,” and later adding an explicit condemnation. Reuters also quoted OK Go vocalist Damian Kulash on the red carpet describing a country where, in his view, the government had “raised an army of… masked anonymous men” to attack its own people, saying celebrating felt irresponsible.
The reaction split exactly the way you’d expect: fans calling it bravery and humanity, critics calling it performative or divisive, and a third group saying they’re tired of politics everywhere — while sharing the clips anyway. The bigger reason it traveled so fast is that it fused three high-engagement ingredients: a massive celebrity, a live awards show, and a single two-word slogan that fits perfectly into a headline and a comment section.
For the recording academy and broadcast partners, it’s also a reminder of what modern awards shows have become. They’re not just concerts with trophies anymore. They’re one of the last places where a celebrity can say something unfiltered on live TV and instantly set off a national argument — and that argument becomes its own fuel for attention.
