Bad Bunny gave a powerful speech about the Latinx community at the Grammy Awards.
When the reggaeton superstar accepted the award for Best Music Urbana Album at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 1, he addressed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in his first acceptance speech of the night.
“Before I say thank God, I’m going to say ICE is over,” the Puerto Rican singer said, earning a standing ovation from the star-studded crowd.
Bad Bunny’s comments come as the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration has drawn intense public scrutiny last month following several protests and clashes in Minneapolis, including the shooting deaths of two Americans, Alex Preti and Renee Goode.
Bad Bunny says in speech, “We are not savages, we are not animals.”
“We are not savages, we are not animals, we are not aliens. We are human beings, we are Americans,” Bad Bunny continued. “I know it’s hard not to hate these days, and I thought sometimes we’re tainted. The more hate we have, the more powerful it becomes.
“The only thing stronger than hate is love. So please, we have to be different. If we’re going to fight, we have to do it with love. We don’t hate them. We love people. We love families. That’s the way to do it with love. Please don’t forget that, please.”
Bad Bunny skips US tour due to ICE raid
Bad Bunny’s Grammy speech wasn’t the first time he spoke out about immigration and the Trump administration.
The singer had no scheduled U.S. appearances on her latest world tour, which takes her through Latin America, Australia, Europe and Japan. Prior to the tour, they held a residency in Puerto Rico from July 11th to September 20th, drawing thousands of fans from around the world to the island.
In an interview with ID magazine in September, the singer said that one of the reasons he chose not to tour the United States was because of Immigration and Customs Enforcement enforcement.
“There were many reasons why I didn’t come to the United States, but none of them were out of hatred,” he said at the time. “But there were issues. For example… ICE could be outside (my concert). And that’s something we were talking about and very concerned about.”
Bad Bunny has previously criticized Donald Trump
Bad Bunny made some sharp comments about President Trump’s anti-immigrant policies in the music video for his song “NuevaYol,” released on Independence Day.
After raising the Puerto Rican flag on the Statue of Liberty’s forehead, a voice that sounds like President Trump’s comes over the radio and says, “I made a mistake. I want to apologize to America’s immigrants. I want to say that this country is nothing without immigrants. This country is nothing without Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Cubans…”
And ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Bad Bunny supported President Trump’s Democratic rival, former Vice President Kamala Harris. The move comes after a comedian who appeared at one of President Trump’s late-election rallies mocked Puerto Rico as a “floating island of trash.”
After cartoonist Tony Hinchcliffe’s comments went viral, Bad Bunny shared a video of Harris criticizing Trump’s actions towards Puerto Rico during his presidency, saying, “We will never forget what Donald Trump did and didn’t do when Puerto Rico needed a caring and capable leader.”
He abandoned the island and tried to block aid after a series of devastating hurricanes, but offered only paper towels and insults. ”
Why won’t Bad Bunny perform at the Grammys?
Bad Bunny is one of the highest-nominated artists at the Grammy Awards, but he never takes the stage.
Host Trevor Noah made a few jokes about the singer, who is scheduled to headline next Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime show, not performing at the Grammys.
“When I found out you were going to be here, I was so excited to come back and host this year,” Noah told Bad Bunny. “But then we found out you can’t perform at the Grammys because you’re doing the Super Bowl.”
After Bad Bunny replied, “I would love to, but I can’t,” Noah implored Bad Bunny to sing or lip-sync a portion of his song.
Even after Bad Bunny’s emotional speech, Noah’s heart was still in the music.
“That was really beautiful,” Noah told Bad Bunny of his remarks. “I saw you there and I heard what you said. It was really shocking. The only thing I felt was missing was, ‘Oh, if only this guy could play a part in that.'”
The Grammy host coaxed Bad Bunny into singing a line from his nominated song “DTMF” by playfully reciting the lyrics in English and then singing the song in Spanish. Noah brought in an ensemble of trumpet players to complete the impromptu number.
This story has been updated to add new information.
Contributors: Wendy Naugle and Rebecca Moerin, USA TODAY
