Kehlani accepted the Grammy for best R&B performance (“Folded”) and said “fuck ICE” in her acceptance speech after encouraging other artists “to speak against all the injustice going on in the world right now.” Kehlani attended the Grammys wearing an “ICE Out” pin, as did many other artists such as Billie Eilish, Justin and Hailey Bieber songwriter Amy Allen, Bon Iver, Jack Antonoff Margo Price, Samara Joy and more.
Bon Iver founder Justin Vernon told Variety on the Grammys red carpet that he was also wearing a whistle pin “to honor the observers in Minneapolis” who “blow the whistle when they see ICE come in,” adding: “They are there to protect their community and they’ve been doing it for weeks. It’s great to stop here and celebrate music and the power of music, but the real work is in the streets of Minneapolis right now, and I’m here to honor them.”
“A week ago, when Alex Pretti was shot and killed in the manner he was shot and killed, I was pretty sure I didn’t have the strength to come out here to L.A. and be a part of all this,” Vernon continued. “Then I started seeing the people coming together in Minneapolis and organizing without a central government. I saw them being dissident. I just want to honor them and amplify what they’re doing. My hope has been dwindling. I started to see something in the organization in Minneapolis that felt like the first sign of hope in a long time”
Shaboozey, who won his first Grammy award by taking home the prize for best country duo/group performance (“Amen” with Jelly Roll), used his acceptance speech to champion immigrants.
“Immigrants built this country, literally. So this is for them, for all children of immigrants,” he said. “This is also for those who came to this country in search of a better opportunity to be part of a nation that promised freedom for all and equal opportunity to everyone willing to work for it. Thank you for bringing your culture, your music, your stories and your traditions here. You give America color. I love y’all so much.”
Samara Joy told Variety on the red carpet that she was wearing an “ICE Out” pin because “now is not the time to get super down or downtrodden about what’s going on, but to speak up and speak out for those who can’t at the moment. It’s the least I could do… I want to stand up. I don’t want to draw attention to myself all the time without recognizing the humanity of all the people experiencing tragedies around the world. I want to speak up for those who can’t.”
“ICE Out” pins were previously worn by industry talent at the Golden Globes and the Sundance Film Festival to bring attention to ICE brutality in Minneapolis after the shooting death of Renée Good and then of Alex Pretti.
When asked by USA Today why it was important to send a political message while attending the Golden Globes, nominee Mark Ruffalo answered: “Listen, I want to pretend like this — I want to be here to celebrate, and I am here to celebrate, and I’m proud to have a Golden Globe nomination. But also, this is not normal anymore, and so I don’t know how I how I could be quiet, and I’m feeling a little sick, so it’s hard to BS right now.”
Natalie Portman shared a similar sentiment at Sundance, where she was premiering a new movie (“The Gallerist”) amid the ongoing ICE brutality.
“We’re at a moment in our country’s history that is quite devastating. It’s really impossible not to talk about what is happening right now and the brutality of ICE and how it has to stop immediately,” Portman told Variety. “But also, there’s a beautiful community that Americans are showing right now. They’re showing up for each other, protecting each other and fighting for their freedom. It’s a bittersweet moment to celebrate something we’re so proud of on the backdrop of our nation in pain.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source variety.com ’
