Bad Bunny blasts ICE during Grammy Awards speech
Bad Bunny gave a powerful speech about the Latino community at the Grammy Awards .
The reggaeton superstar used his first acceptance speech of the night to address U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during his win for best música urbana album at the 68th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 1.
"Before I say thanks to God, I'm going to say, ICE out," the Puerto Rican singer said, earning a standing ovation from the star-studded crowd.
Bad Bunny's remarks come amid the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, which has drawn intense public scrutiny in the last month following several protests and clashes in Minneapolis , including the shooting deaths of two American citizens , Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
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Bad Bunny says 'we're not savage, we're not animals' in speech
"We're not savage, we're not animals, we're not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans," Bad Bunny continued. "I know it's tough to not hate these days. And I was thinking, sometimes we get contaminated. The hate gets more powerful with more hate.
"The only thing that is 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. We love our family, and that's the way to do it — with love. Don't forget that, please."
Bad Bunny skips US tour due to ICE raids
Bad Bunny's Grammy Awards speech wasn't the first time the singer has spoken out on immigration and the Trump administration .
The singer did not schedule any U.S. appearances for his latest world tour, which includes stops across Latin America, Australia, Europe and Japan. Ahead of the tour, he held a residency in Puerto Rico from July 11 to Sept. 20 that brought thousands of fans from across the world to the island.
Bad Bunny accepts the album of the year award for "DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS" onstage during the 68th Grammy Awards on Feb. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles
(Emma McIntyre, Getty Images for The Recording Academy)In a September interview with I-D magazine , the singer said Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdowns were part of the reason he opted not to bring his tour to the U.S.
"There were many reasons why I didn't show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate," he said at the time. "But there was the issue of — like... ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it's something that we were talking about and very concerned about."
Bad Bunny previously criticized Donald Trump
Bad Bunny made a pointed statement about Trump's anti-immigration policies in the music video for his song "NuevaYol," which he released on the Fourth of July.
After showing a Puerto Rican flag hanging over the forehead of the Statue of Liberty, a voice that sounds like Trump's plays from a radio and says: "I made a mistake. I want to apologize to the immigrants in America. I want to say that this country is nothing without the immigrants. This country is nothing without Mexicans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Cubans…"
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(Daniel Cole, Reuters)And ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Bad Bunny backed Trump's Democratic rival, former Vice President Kamala Harris . The move came after a comedian performing at one of Trump's closing campaign rallies derided Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage."
After comic Tony Hinchcliffe's comments went viral, Bad Bunny shared a video of Harris criticizing Trump's actions against Puerto Rico when he was president: "I will never forget what Donald Trump did — and what he did not do – when Puerto Rico needed a caring and a competent leader.
He abandoned the island, tried to block aid after back-to-back devastating hurricanes and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults."
Why is Bad Bunny not performing at Grammy Awards?
Although Bad Bunny is one of the top-nominated acts at the Grammys, he won't be hitting the stage.
Host Trevor Noah made several jokes about the singer, who's scheduled to headline the Super Bowl halftime show next Sunday, not performing at the Grammys ceremony.
"I was so excited to come back this year and host knowing that you were going to be here," Noah told Bad Bunny. "But then, I found out because you're doing the Super Bowl ... you can't perform at the Grammys."
"I wish, but I can't," Bad Bunny replied, after which Noah pleaded with the singer to sing a snippet of one of his songs or lip-sync.
Even after Bad Bunny's emotional speech, Noah's mind was still on the music.
"That was really beautiful," Noah told Bad Bunny of his remarks. "I saw you up there; I heard what you said. It was really impactful. The only thing I felt that was missing was, I was like, 'Man, if this guy could perform some of that.'"
The Grammys host was then able to goad Bad Bunny into singing a line from his nominated song "DTMF" by playfully reciting the song's lyrics in English and then singing the track in Spanish. Noah then brought out an ensemble of trumpet players to complete the impromptu number.
This story was updated to add new information.
Contributing: Wendy Naugle and Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bad Bunny says 'ICE out' in fiery Grammy Awards speech
