Why It Matters that Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, and Olivia Dean Denounced ICE at the Grammys
Major Grammy winners Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, and Olivia Dean used their platform to denounce ICE amid the detention of a young boy and the deaths of eight people. Here's why it matters.
When fascism comes to call, it is often the artists and creatives who lead the way out. They do it in their writing, in their songs, in their performances. When they have to, they bury meanings but when they can, they speak out.
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And last night, artists denounced the brutality and murders of Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Grammys.
At the 68th Annual Grammy Awards on February 1, 2026, major winners Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, and Olivia Dean used their platform to denounce ICE amid the detention of a young boy and the deaths of eight people, including the murder of two American citizens in broad daylight and captured on video so far in 2026.
They, along with artists like Kehlani, wore “ICE Out” pins, while Bad Bunny used his speech to call for ICE to leave, “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say, ICE out. We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we are humans and we are Americans.”
Eilish proclaimed,“Nobody is illegal on stolen land. We need to keep fighting and speaking up. Our voices do matter.”
Watch here:
Other celebrities denouncing ICE recently include Martha Stewart, if that gives you any idea of where we stand as a society against ICE right now.
Bruce Springsteen, always reliable when American values are under attack, released a protest song, "Streets of Minneapolis," criticizing "state terror.”
Neil Young gifted the people of Greenland free, one-year access to his entire music catalog in January 2026.
And Lady Gaga used a Mayhem Ball tour stop in Tokyo, Japan, to speak out against ICE, expressing her heartbreak over families being "mercilessly targeted" and calling for safety and accountability.
Authoritarians Seek to Capture the Arts
Artists denouncing a regime’s actions always strikes a nerve because authoritarians seek to co-opt the aspirational aspect of the arts, they want to steal and use the same coolness, but without the authenticity.
Read more below.
