Trump Fires Back After Super Bowl Star Bad Bunny Stages ICE Protest at Grammys
Donald Trump has lashed out after various artists at the Grammys criticised ICE, including Super Bowl half-time performer Bad Bunny.
On Sunday night, the biggest names in music gathered at the Crypto.com Arena in Downtown Los Angeles for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.
Several of the most popular names in the charts came home with awards throughout the evening, including the likes of Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Lady GaGa and Bad Bunny.
However, it wasn't just the award winners that have made headlines in the hours following the ceremony, as many artists took the opportunity to raise their concerns about the recent actions of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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But Trump clearly isn't happy about the political aspect of the awards, as he took to social media to release an official statement reacting to the Grammys.
Perhaps the biggest winner at the Grammys this year was Bad Bunny, who became the first Latin artist to win album of the year in the 68-year history of the Grammy Awards.
As he got up to accept the award for 'DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS', Bunny, real name Benito Ocasio, immediately spoke out against ICE, calling for more love in the United States, rather than hate.
"Before I say thanks to God, I'm going to say, ICE out," the Puerto Rican singer said as he accept his award to a standing ovation from his peers in the crowd.
"We're not savage, we're not animals, we're not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans," Bad Bunny continued.
"I know it's tough to not hate these days. And I was thinking, sometimes we get contaminated. The hate gets more powerful with more hate.
"The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love. So please, we need to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love. We don't hate them; we love our people. We love our family, and that's the way to do it — with love. Don't forget that, please."
Osasio is set to perform during the half-time show at the Super Bowl this weekend, a decision that led to Trump announcing that he would not be attending the major sporting event this year.
It was later confirmed that Trump administration would be sending a large amount of ICE agents to the Bay Area ahead of the Seahawks' clash with the Patriots.
Earlier in the Grammys, Ocasio and comedian Trevor Noah, who was the presenter for the ceremony, also joked that Puerto Rico is, in fact, part of the US, despite Trump's reaction to the singer's inclusion in the Super Bowl.
But it appears that it was another comment from Noah that really set Trump off, after the comedian made a reference to the US President's links with notorious child sex offender and human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
“Song of the Year - that is a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland, which makes sense because Epstein’s island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out with Bill Clinton,' Noah quipped.
Not long after, Trump lashed out at Noah on his social media platform Truth Social, claiming that he would sue the comedian for the false comments.
He wrote: “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.
“It looks like I’ll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty$.”
The comedian's comments and Trump's reaction came shortly after the release of another wave of the redacted Epstein files, in which Trump's name has appeared more than 1000 times, raising questions about his relationship to Epstein.
Topics: Donald Trump, Super Bowl
Ben McCrum