White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed musician Bad Bunny after the global Latin superstar’s viral condemnation of the Trump administration’s immigration policies at Sunday’s Grammy Awards.
While accepting the Grammy for best música urbana album, Bad Bunny, real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, said, “Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say: ICE out!” The upcoming Super Bowl Halftime performer added, “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”
When asked about Bad Bunny’s acceptance speech at the White House on Tuesday, Leavitt told reporters, “I think it’s very ironic and frankly sad to see celebrities who live in gated communities, with private security, [and] with millions of dollars to spend protecting themselves trying to just demonize law enforcement.”
The Trump spokesperson added, “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.”
The political blowback against the Trump administration’s ICE operations across the country came to a head after the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. Federal agents have also been accused of excessive force, racial profiling, and tear-gassing protesters, including an infant child.
Bad Bunny was among several artists, including SZA, Shaboozey, Olivia Dean, and Billie Eilish, who spoke out in support of immigrants amid the Trump administration’s controversial immigration agenda. Many also wore pins that read, “ICE Out.”
“F–k ICE,” said R&B singer Kehlani as she accepted her Grammy for Best R&B Performance. Explaining her decision to call out ICE at a later press conference, the musician said, ” I think we have a big responsibility…we’re under a microscope and people all over the world can see even just when we open our mouths one time.”
She added, “So I think we have the opportunity to use it wisely and there’s so many of us that a group of us using it wisely is pretty unstoppable.”
President Trump made clear he was not a fan of the Grammys blowback and slammed the award ceremony, including its host Trevor Noah, whom he threatened to sue over remarks the comedian made about Trump’s past relationship with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I thought he did a terrible job at the Grammys. I thought the whole Grammys was terrible. I watched part of it. It’s not watchable,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday. “But he was a lousy host. I’d say not as bad as Jimmy Kimmel, but pretty close.”
