Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, responded sharply to remarks made by Bad Bunny, who criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the Grammy Awards on Sunday night.
After receiving the award for Best Música Urbana Album, Bad Bunny took the stage and announced, “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say: ICE out.”
The Puerto Rican artist, who is also set to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show, declared, “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans.”
Leavitt addressed Bad Bunny’s statements when speaking with reporters outside the White House on Tuesday.
“It’s quite ironic and frankly disappointing to see celebrities, who reside in gated communities with private security and have millions to ensure their own safety, attempting to demonize law enforcement professionals who work for the United States government to uphold our nation’s laws,” said Leavitt.
She further noted, “You didn’t hear this kind of outcry from Hollywood celebrities during the previous administration when there was an invasion at our borders, leading to tragic incidents involving innocent women and girls like Jocelyn Nungaray and Laken Riley, who were harmed by individuals who should not have been in our country.”
She said the uproar was over ‘law enforcement who are simply trying to do their jobs to remove violent predators.’
Members of ICE and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol have been involved in two deadly incidents in Minneapolis, which have prompted widespread protest and criticism of Trump’s mass deportation plan.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked Tuesday to respond to Puerto Rican singer and Super Bowl halftime performer Bad Bunny’s anti-ICE comments at Sunday’s Grammys
Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny told the Grammy audience ‘ICE out!’ as he accepted the award forBest Musica Urbana Album at Sunday night’s Grammy Awards. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to Bad Bunny’s comments on Tuesday
‘There was no uproar from Hollywood and the elitist crowd at the Grammys then,’ Leavitt said of the Biden era. ‘But there is now, and I think that speaks to the unfortunate irony that we’re seeing in Hollywood.’
President Donald Trump is also no fan of Bad Bunny, telling the New York Post in an interview last month that he thought the NFL made a mistake in choosing Bad Bunny – and also Green Day – as the Super Bowl performers.
‘I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible,’ the president said.
Trump also said he wouldn’t be making a repeat trip to the Super Bowl this year due to it being played on the West Coast.
‘It’s just too far away,’ the 79-year-old president explained.
Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks will be played at the home of the San Francisco 49ers, in Santa Clara, California.
Turning Point USA, the conservative organization of the late Charlie Kirk, has half-time counterprogramming planned featuring MAGA mainstay Kid Rock and country singers Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett.
On Grammy night, it wasn’t Bad Bunny who received the brunt of Trump’s criticism, but rather the show’s emcee, former Daily Show host Trevor Noah.
Directly after the Grammys aired, President Donald Trump complained about host Trevor Noah (left) who opened the show by making an Epstein Island joke about the president. Bad Bunny (right) was critical of ICE
Noah opened the show by making an Epstein Island joke about the president.
‘That is a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland,’ Noah said. ‘Which makes sense, I mean, because Epstein’s island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out on with Bill Clinton.’
The joke prompted a furious Truth Social post, with Trump calling Noah a ‘total loser’ and threatening to sue him.
‘The host, Trevor Noah, whoever he may be, is almost as bad as Jimmy Kimmel at the Low Ratings Academy Awards,’ Trump said. ‘Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. WRONG!!!’
‘I can’t speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonight’s false and defamatory statement, have never been accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media,’ the president added.
