Björk urges Greenland to declare independence as Trump threatens takeover

Björk has once again called for Greenland to declare its independence from Denmark as Donald Trump renews his threats to annex the island.

The Icelandic singer shared an impassioned Instagram post Monday urging residents of the neighboring territory to break free from the Kingdom of Denmark like Iceland did in 1944. Her call to action comes amid growing concerns that Trump could order the U.S. military to invade the resource-rich land following the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Fears of a takeover rose even more following an interview published by The Atlantic magazine Sunday in which the president said, “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense.”

“I wish all Greenlanders blessing in their fight for independence,” Björk wrote, adding: “Colonialism has repeatedly given me horror chills up my back, and the chance that my fellow Greenlanders might go from one cruel colonizer to another is too brutal to even imagine.”

Greenland was a colony under Denmark’s crown until 1953, and is now a self-governing territory of Denmark with two representatives in Danish parliament. The 57,000-person district depends heavily on Denmark for half of its public budget, and relies on the country to control its foreign affairs and defense. However, the island has a right to hold a national referendum to declare independence.

Björk, 60, shared her gratitude for her home country’s split from Denmark in the post, writing that her fellow Icelanders “are extremely relieved that they managed to break from the Danish in 1944 , we didn’t loose our language ( my children would be speaking Danish now ).”

She went on to condemn Denmark’s control of Greenland and acknowledged last year’s lawsuit by 143 women accusing the government of forcibly giving them IUDs without their knowledge or consent in an effort to limit Greenland’s population growth. An official inquiry found that around 4,500 Greenlandic Indigenous women were impacted by the forced contraception campaign between the 1960s and 1990s. Denmark issued an apology and announced a reconciliation fund to compensate all eligible victims.

Björk also slammed the parental competency tests that were banned in May 2025 after decades of controversy for being biased against Greenlandic families in another instance of Danish policies that dehumanized Greenlanders. These tests forced families to be separated as young Inuit children were taken from their parents and given to Danish foster families.

The artist wrote, “till today the Danish are treating Greenlanders like they are second class humans,” concluding: “Dear Greenlanders, declare independence !!!! Sympathetic wishes from your neighbors. Warmthness.”

This is not the first time Björk has encouraged Greenland to separate from Denmark; she even has a song called “Declare Independence” that is dedicated to Greenland and the Faroe Islands, which is also Denmark’s constituent nation.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Monday that Greenland and Denmark have both rejected Trump’s wish for Greenland, telling public broadcaster DR: “I have made it very clear where the Kingdom of Denmark stands, and Greenland has repeatedly said that it does not want to be part of the United States.”

The White House did not immediately return The Independent’s request for comment.