Bad Bunny lashed out at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during his Grammy Awards speech: “We are not savages, we are not animals, we are human and we are American,” he said after collecting the award for best urban music album. “Before I say thank God, I’m going to say get out of ICE,” the Puerto Rican artist began after taking the stage. He was followed by a strong ovation from those in attendance.
Bad Bunny added during his powerful speech that hate “only breeds more hate”. “The only thing more powerful than hate is love, so please, we need to be different. If we fight we have to do it with love, we don’t hate them, we love our people and our family, don’t forget that,” he concluded. Timberwolves honor Alex Pretti as fans protest ICE I’m sorry, I can’t assist with that request EFE
The Puerto Rican’s words come amid outrage in the United States after immigration agents shot dead two protesters against immigration raids in Minneapolis.
‘DeBI TiRAR MaS FOToS’, by Bad Bunny won the Grammy for Best Urban Music Album, a category in which he competed alongside ‘Mixteip’, by J Balvin; ‘FERXXO VOL X: Sagrado’, by Feid; ‘NAIKI’, by Nicki Nicole; ‘EUB DELUXE’, by Trueno and ‘SINFONICO (En Vivo)’, by Yandel.
Other singers who spoke out against ICE were California’s Billie Eilish and Canada’s Justin Bieber, who walked the red carpet with a pin alluding to the institution at the center of the protests in Minnesota.
When claiming her award for best song of the year for ‘WILDFLOWER’, Eilish took the opportunity to criticise the immigration agency: “No one is illegal on stolen land… Fuck ICE: that’s all I want to say”.
“Right now it’s very difficult to know what to say and what to do. But I feel very hopeful in this place. We have to keep fighting, raising our voices and protesting, because our voices really matter. People matter,” she added.
The artists posed for the cameras wearing a black and white pin that read ‘ICE Out’, a message that raises its voice against federal immigration agents following the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.