White House Press Secretary Condemns Grammy Award Celebrity Statements on Immigration
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has launched a sharp critique against prominent musical artists who used the Grammy Awards platform to denounce Immigration and Customs Enforcement and President Donald Trump's deportation agenda. During a Tuesday press briefing outside the White House, Leavitt characterized the celebrity activism as hypocritical and disconnected from reality.
Leavitt's Critique of Celebrity Privilege and Security
Karoline Leavitt expressed particular frustration with what she described as elitist behavior from wealthy entertainers. "I think it's very ironic and frankly sad to see celebrities who live in gated communities with private security, with millions of dollars to spend protecting themselves, trying to just demonize law enforcement," Leavitt stated during her remarks to reporters. The press secretary emphasized the contrast between the protected environments these artists inhabit and their criticism of immigration enforcement agencies.
Grammy Awards Become Political Battleground
The controversy stems from Sunday night's Grammy Awards ceremony, which transformed into an unexpected political forum. Multiple high-profile musical artists made deliberate statements against ICE throughout the evening. Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber, and legendary singer Joni Mitchell were among those wearing visible "ICE OUT" pins during the broadcast. Several award winners utilized their acceptance speeches to criticize immigration policies and express solidarity with immigrant communities.
Album of the Year winner Bad Bunny delivered one of the evening's most pointed political statements during his acceptance speech. The Puerto Rican superstar received a sustained thirty-second standing ovation when he began his remarks by directly addressing immigration enforcement. "We're not savage, we're not animals, we are not aliens, we are humans, and we are Americans," Bad Bunny declared to the audience.
White House Contrasts Celebrity Response with Past Tragedies
Leavitt further developed her criticism by contrasting the Grammy protests with what she characterized as celebrity silence during previous immigration-related tragedies. The press secretary specifically invoked the names of Jocelyn Nungaray and Laken Riley, two individuals killed by undocumented immigrants during the Biden administration. "You didn't hear this same kind of uproar from celebrities in Hollywood when the previous administration allowed an invasion of our nation's borders and allowed innocent women and girls like Jocelyn Nungaray and Laken Riley to be killed and raped and murdered at the hands of people who should have never been in our country in the first place," Leavitt asserted.
Defending Immigration Enforcement Efforts
The White House spokesperson also took the opportunity to defend ICE officers and the Trump administration's immigration enforcement approach. "Now you have law enforcement who are simply trying to do their jobs to remove violent predators like those who took the lives of innocent Americans," Leavitt explained. She characterized the Grammy protests as selective outrage, noting that "there was no uproar from Hollywood and the elitist crowd at the Grammys then, but there is now, and I think that speaks to the unfortunate irony that we're seeing in Hollywood."
This exchange highlights the ongoing cultural and political divide regarding immigration policy in the United States, with entertainment industry figures increasingly using award ceremonies as platforms for political expression while administration officials push back against what they view as privileged criticism from protected communities.
