Many celebrities are leveraging the 2026 Grammys red carpet to make a pointed political statement.
On Sunday night, a number of high-profile attendees including Justin Bieber, Hailey Bieber, Kehlani, Billie Eilish and Brandi Carlile wore small but unmistakable “ICE Out” buttons pinned to their awards-night looks.
The gesture signalled solidarity with ongoing protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and its expanded role under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
The issue has drawn heightened scrutiny in recent weeks following protests and clashes in Minneapolis, including the fatal shootings of two American citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Together, the incidents have prompted widespread demonstrations across the United States calling for accountability and reform.
The “ICE Out” pins were first spotted on the red carpet at January’s Golden Globes and form part of a broader campaign organised by what has been described as a coalition of entertainment industry professionals.
Several artists extended the message beyond their attire. When Kehlani won Best R&B Performance for “Folded,” she used her acceptance speech to emphasise collective responsibility.
“What I wanna make sure that I say is that everybody is so powerful in this room,” she said. “And together, we’re stronger in numbers to speak against all the injustice going on in the world right now. So instead of letting it be just a couple of you here and there, I hope everybody’s inspired to join together as a community of artists and speak out against what’s going on.”
During Bad Bunny’s first acceptance speech of the night, he directly addressed the treatment of immigrants.
“We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans, we are Americans,” he said.
“It’s tough not to hate on these days. The hate gets more powerful with more hate. The only thing more powerful than hate is love. Please, we need to be different. If we fight, we need to do it with love. We don’t hate them, we love our people, we love our family. Do it with love.”
After a rousing performance of her breakthrough hit “Man I Need,” Olivia Dean echoed that sentiment while accepting the award for Best New Artist.
“I’m up here as the granddaughter of an immigrant,” she said to loud applause. “I wouldn’t be here … I’m a product of bravery and I think those people deserve to be celebrated,” Dean added. “We’re nothing without each other.”
Dean prevailed over a competitive field that included Lola Young, K-pop girl group KATSEYE, sombr, The Marías, Addison Rae and Alex Warren.
Billie Eilish delivered one of the night’s more explicit statements.
“Thank you so much. I can’t believe this. Everyone else in this category is so amazing. I love you so much,” she said, standing alongside her brother Finneas.
“As grateful as I feel, I honestly don’t feel like I need to say anything but that no one is illegal on stolen land. And, yeah, it’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now, and I feel really hopeful in this room, and I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting, and our voices really do matter, and the people matter, and fuck ICE. That’s all I’m going to say. Sorry. Thank you so much.”
While the red carpet is often framed as a realm of spectacle and fashion, political expression has long been woven into its visual language — and tonight, the message was unmistakable.
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