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Entertainment\u2019s awards season has coincided with the Trump administration\u2019s mass deportation campaign<\/a><\/span> in Minneapolis, forcing artists to decide whether and how to join the growing cultural revolt<\/a><\/span> against immigration crackdowns.<\/p>\n Those questions again surfaced Sunday as music\u2019s biggest stars walked the red carpet<\/a><\/span> at the Grammys. Activists spent the week pressing celebrities to don pins protesting the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence in cities, working with their teams to spread the message and circulating them at the many events leading up to the ceremony.<\/p>\n Organizers saw a stronger showing of support Sunday than at last month\u2019s Golden Globes<\/a><\/span>. Public backlash has grown since a Border Patrol officer shot and killed 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti<\/a><\/span> and federal agents detained 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos<\/a><\/span>. The recent arrest of journalist Don Lemon<\/a><\/span> only added to the outcry.<\/p>\n Plus, as one organizer noted, the Grammys tend to draw a less risk-averse crowd than Hollywood\u2019s shows.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are folks who are known for six-stage shows, crazy costumes, being kind of rebellious, punk rock \u2014 like that\u2019s the music industry. And so, I think it makes sense that we would see good support,\u201d Maremoto Executive Director Jess Morales Rocketto said. \u201cThese pins are about so much more than a red carpet moment. It\u2019s about people taking a stand and doing what they can to show up to say that ICE should be out of our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier in the week, Mexican American singer Becky G<\/a><\/span> had an explicit message for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the nails she wore to the MusiCares Person of the Year gala.<\/p>\n Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Kehlani and Rhiannon Giddens were among the artists wearing protest apparel on the Grammys red carpet. Kehlani cursed ICE in her acceptance speech for best R&B performance.<\/p>\n Vernon, whose band Bon Iver is up for best alternative music album, said he wore a whistle to honor the legal observers who are documenting federal agents\u2019 actions on the streets.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s a reason that music exists and it\u2019s to heal and to bring people together,\u201d he told The Associated Press. \u201cBut the real work are those observers on the on the ground in Minneapolis. We just want to want to shout them out.\u201d<\/p>\n At the Sundance Film Festival last week, several celebrities wore pins saying \u201cICE OUT\u201d during their red carpet appearances, including Natalie Portman, Olivia Wilde and Zoey Deutch, who also wore a \u201cBE GOOD\u201d pin, referencing Renee Good, who was killed by an ICE officer last month.<\/p>\n Wilde told the AP that she was \u201chorrified by this string of murders that we are somehow legitimizing and normalizing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really difficult to be here and to be celebrating something so joyous and beautiful and positive when we know what\u2019s happening on the streets,\u201d she added. \u201cAmericans are out on the streets marching and demanding justice, and we\u2019re there with them. And if we can do anything with our platforms, you know, we can speak out and demand that ICE get out.\u201d<\/p>\n Portman got emotional when asked about her \u201cICE OUT\u201d pin at the premiere of her new film, \u201cThe Gallerist.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so lucky to be here in a joyful, creative community celebrating a movie we\u2019re really proud of. But it\u2019s impossible to ignore what ICE is doing to our country. And I\u2019m very inspired, though, by all of the amazing, amazing Americans who are coming out and supporting each other and being there in communities. It\u2019s beautiful,\u201d the actor said as she teared up.<\/p>\n As far as the Grammys go, Rocketto, the community organizer who founded the Latino advocacy group Maremoto, said it\u2019s \u201ckind of a crapshoot\u201d as to which entertainers actually wear the pins.<\/p>\n She described a range of industry forces working against artists\u2019 political expression. Objections could come from record companies, managers or corporate partners.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe the design house that did their fashion deal for the red carpet didn\u2019t want them to literally poke holes in the dress,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s like a million reasons for people not to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Artists might also face personal dangers themselves. Morales Rocketto pointed to the Trump administration\u2019s threats to place ICE agents at the upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance by Bad Bunny<\/a><\/span>, \u201cone of the most invincible\u201d entertainers in her view.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be surprised if we see some Latino artists wearing them,\u201d she said of the pins. \u201cBut the reality is that just because Latino artists are rich and famous, doesn\u2019t mean that they are exempt from the lack of safety that permeates so many Latinos and Latino families. They themselves may be undocumented or only have a green card or have mixed status families.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr and AP journalist Brooke Lefferts contributed reporting from Park City, Utah.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nProtest pins on the red carpet<\/h2>\n
Reasons celebrities may not speak out<\/h2>\n